Nikki Secondino is seen being escorted by New York police after her arrest for allegedly stabbing her father to death and injuring her sister (screengrab via YouTube/Fox 5)
A Brooklyn-based Instagram model is facing murder charges for allegedly killing her father in an argument over a laptop.
Nikki Secondino, 22, of Bensonhurst, was arraigned Monday in Brooklyn Supreme Court, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced in a press release.
According to the DA’s investigation, Secondino, who reportedly has some 16,000 followers on Instagram, attacked her father, Carlo Secondino, 61, on Dec. 29, 2022 at around 5:20 a.m. as he was sleeping on the couch.
“She struck him with a hammer multiple times and proceeded to stab him with a kitchen knife, according to the evidence,” the press release says, adding that the suspect’s father “died at the scene.”
Secondino’s 19-year-old sister Liana Secondino “heard a commotion in the living room, tried to intervene and was allegedly stabbed by the defendant multiple times about her body, hands and face, requiring surgery,” the press release said.
Secondino then reportedly ran out of the house and told police officers that two people broke into her home, killed her sister and her father, and sexually assaulted her, according to the press release.
The suspect’s relatives, however, had a different theory.
“Family members called the NYPD and questioned that account,” the press release said. “Investigators subsequently determined that that version of events was false.”
The investigation further revealed that the defendant and her father had a history of domestic incident reports, the press release noted, adding that Carlo Secondino had “expressed fear of the defendant in the past.”
Prosecutors say that Secondino and her father had a “verbal argument over a laptop” prior to the attack.
Secondino was arraigned Monday on an indictment charging her with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
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According to charging documents, police found Liana Secondino outside the home “with multiple deep lacerations” on her body. She reportedly told police that she had been stabbed by her sister and then asked about her father, telling police that they “have to get him.”
Police said that Nikki Secondino confessed to the killings after being given a Miranda warning.
“I came out of the bedroom and I saw my father sitting on [the] couch sleeping and I bashed [his] head in with [a] hammer,” said the probable cause statement, summarizing the suspect’s alleged account of what happened. “I grabbed my favorite German steel knife and stabbed the s–t out of him.”
Nikki Secondino reportedly told police that her sister “came out of her bedroom and tried to stop me,” which is when she said she stabbed her in the back, head, and stomach.
“I wanted them dead,” Nikki Secondino allegedly told police. “If I saw the 911 caller, she would be next.”
Secondino reportedly said the deadly attack was unplanned.
“I didn’t plan it,” she allegedly told police. “I didn’t need to.”
“I don’t remember where I put the knife but I’m sure you’ll find out,” she reportedly added, according to court filings.
Secondino faces up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted, according to the DA’s office. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 5.
According to the New York Post, Nikki Secondino, who is transgender, had obtained a temporary protection order against her dad and her sister in July, reportedly claiming that Liana Secondino had threatened to kill her and that Carlo Secondino was in “the mob.”
Although a judge signed off on the order, according to the New York Post story, he did not believe that Carlo Secondino was connected to the mafia.