DA: NYC Man Accused of Killing 3; Grandma, Aunt With Special Needs Among Victims

A 22-year-old Queens man was arraigned on murder charges in connection to the fatal stabbings of his grandmother and two aunts that took place last month, the local district attorney said Monday.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the eight-count indictment against Jabari Burrell who is charged with three counts of murder in the first and second degrees, grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

The charged Burrell faces are in connection to a triple homicide that took place on Nov. 17. According to Katz, citing the indictment, it was on that date that Burrell visited the residence of his grandmother and two aunts in Springfield Gardens. The following day, at around 9 a.m., a relative and health aide entered the residence and discovered the three women dead with multiple stab wounds, including one of his aunts who was found dead in her medical bed, according to the district attorney. Allegedly, after the attacks, Burrell fled the scene in his grandmother’s minivan.

Investigators later recovered blood-stained knives from the bathroom, the kitchen sink and from a kitchen drawer, as well as one of the victims’ bedroom and the living room, Katz said.

Burrell was arrested at around 2 p.m. on Nov. 19 on the side of Interstate 95 in Prince George County, Virginia, in his grandmother’s minivan by Virginia State Police, Katz said.

“This is a heartbreaking tragedy. The defendant is alleged to have turned on three family members who had opened their home to him, his grandmother and two aunts, one of whom was disabled by cerebral palsy.  They were defenseless against his brutal rage. He fled but was extradited and will now face justice,” Katz said.

Burrell is scheduled to return back to court on Jan. 18. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Attorney information for Burrell was not immediately known.