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Police Hunt for Man Who Hacked Therapist to Death
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 14, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 14, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Update: The police questioned and released a man in Pennsylvania about the murders. The police apparently found the man, who had met Dr. Faughey and her husband at a guitar camp, by looking at Faughey's email.
Earlier: The police released a sketch of the suspect in the murder of an Upper East Side psychologist and revealed more details about the Tuesday night crime. The suspect, described as a man in his 40s, about 5'9" and 200 pounds with brown or blond hair, fatally slashed Dr. Kathryn Faughey; also attacked was psychiatrist Dr. Kent Shinbach, an officemate who tried to intervene. The suspect also apparently brought with him bags full of adult diapers, knives, duct tape and women's clothing.
The police showed surveillance video of the suspect entering the East 79th Street buildingwith a suitcase and bag at 8PM, telling the doorman he was going to see Dr. Shinbach. In the doctors' waiting room, he chatted with another patient who was going to see Shinbach. When that patient entered Shinbach's office, the suspect entered Faughey's office. Per the Sun:
Several moments later, police said Dr. Shinbeck heard screams coming from Faughey's office and ran to respond.
Inside, Dr. Shinbach discovered the man covered in blood and Faughey's body lying beside her desk, according to a police account. "She's dead," the man said, and then lunged at Dr. Shinbach, police said.
The ensuing struggle lasted for 10 minutes, ending only after the man pinned the doctor to a wall with a chair and stole his wallet.
Residents told the Daily News that the suspect allegedly screamed, "No one is helping me! No one is helping me!" Police do not think it was a patient who suddenly snapped during a session; a source said, "If he's crazy, he's crazy like a fox. It wasn't a sudden burst of temper. It was planned."
Shinbach's patient went into the waiting room when Shinbach didn't return; the Post reports she saw the killer, "who tried to push her into a bathroom... She told cops she kicked him in the groin, warned him police would be coming, and then locked the door behind him as he fled, the sources said."
Video showed the suspect leaving through the basement, with his luggage, but the bags were left behind and the police found women's clothing, adult diapers, duct tape, rope, and knives. The Daily News' police source said, "There is a lot of violence and a lot of planning. He had a way out. He came with all the tools he needed, knives and a cleaver, and some he didn't even get a chance to use, the rope and duct tape." Two knives appeared to be used in the attacks - a meat cleaver and a 9-inch kitchen knife, both of which were bent and broken from the attack. Another knife and the suspect's baseball cap were also in Faughey's office.
Faughey, a 56-year-old Queens native, had lived across the street from her office. Her husband, Walter Adam, told the NY Times that he saw her office light was still on at 8:30PM, past the time she was supposed to come home:
He called and got no answer. Then he saw police cars on the block.
“I thought it was an automobile accident,” he said. “Finally I said, ‘I better go over and see what’s going on.’ ”
He heard the news from a police officer: His wife had been killed.
“She’s taken very good care of me,” Mr. Adam said. “She’s looked after me. She’s a good and decent woman. Never harmed anyone.”
Faughey was stabbed 15 times. Shinbach suffered cuts to his head; he underwent surgery and has spoken to the police (he said he had never seen the attacker before). Shinbach's screams for help were heard by doormen going a break; one of the doorman said he was sure he could identify the suspect.
One theory is that the killer is either a patient or a relative of a patient, but the police haven't been able to access patient records due to privacy laws. Police have alerted hospitals, because he may have injured himself in the attack (it's common for attackers in stabbings to be cut as well).
A forensic psychiatrist at St. Vincent's and New York Medical College spoke with the Sun about violence against therapists; there don't seem to be statistics about murders. Injuries to therapists can be more common, and usually patients with more serious disorders are seen at group practices and hospitals.
Tagged
crime
daily news
east side
Kathryn Faughey
Kent Shinbach
murder
news
slashing
stabbing
therapist
Upper East
upper east side
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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