A 46-year-old man faces murder and weapons charges for allegedly stabbing his parents to death in the Brooklyn home where the three of them lived, authorities say.
The Borough Park couple – Jacob Sperber and Rachel Sperber, both 75 years old and loved by the community – died at Maimonides Hospital after being discovered in their apartment Saturday evening. Law enforcement sources allege their son Meyer Sperber was the culprit.
Neighbor Schlomo Antin said the father was a cherished member of the Orthodox community, calling him a holy man with a big heart.
"He feed so many poor people. He could see somebody in the street who doesn't have a place to stay, 'come to my house,' it doesn't matter who you are," Antin told News 4.
A source said neighbors reported hearing screams coming from the family's apartment on 45th Street. Around 5:30 p.m., police responded to the 1100 block and quickly set up a crime scene. Neighbors also reported hearing the son threatening police. Authorities haven't speculated on a possible motive.
"We all knew the son is weird, he always, I don’t know exactly what happened – he was sometimes depressed, sometimes high," Antin said.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
A wave of disbelief and shock crashed over the tight-knit community of Borough Park after the details of the killings spread.
News
"This isn't human, this is just beyond," Schmiel Weiss said.
"I can’t believe myself to this tragedy, we live over here, we never heard crime, no crime," Antin said.
Video taken from the scene shows a man strapped to a gurney with his hands restrained.
