Police say bloody palm prints and eyewitness identifications helped lead them to a suspect in the murder of Kathryn Faughey, 56, a New York psychologist who was stabbed to death inside an East 79th Street office building last week.
On Saturday morning, New York City police arrested David Tarloff, 39, after investigators matched his prints to three palm prints found at the Faughey crime scene. Police state that Tarloff's prints had been on file since Feb. 1, when he was arrested at St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Queens for allegedly assaulting a security guard. According to police, Tarloff had violated prearranged conditions regarding visitation with his mother, who is a resident at the hospital.
Following his most recent arrest, Tarloff was transported to the 19th Precinct station house, where three witnesses, including Dr. Kent Shinbach, 70, a psychiatrist who was assaulted while trying to aid the victim, picked him out of a police lineup, according to police.
Tarloff spoke briefly with investigators, during which time he allegedly told them that he initially went to the office to rob Shinbach because Faughey had institutionalized him in 1991. Police say Tarloff wanted the money so he could take his mother out of the hospital and leave the country. Tarloff provided no more information on his motive for robbing Faughey or the circumstances surrounding Faughey’s death, and after just 25 minutes of questioning, he invoked his right to legal representation.
"Forensic evidence and Tarloff’s own words placed him at the scene of the crime," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly stated at a news conference at 1 Police Plaza on Saturday.
Kelly also told the media that investigators had found evidence suggesting Tarloff had staked out the building prior to the murder.
"Tarloff was captured on video cameras entering the East 79th Street location on Tuesday at 8 p.m., about 45 to 50 minutes before the attacks and leaving through a basement door at 8:59 p.m. A second video captured him taking the same path through the building an hour and a half earlier, beginning at 6:30 p.m.," Kelly said.
According to The Associated Press, Tarloff's neighbors have described him as a troubled man with a history of mental health problems. However, despite his sometimes erratic behavior, which included walking the halls talking to himself, many were shocked by the news of his arrest.
"He had problems, but he was never violent," Phyllis Zicherman, a friend of the family told the AP.
Speaking with the same media outlet, another family friend, Betty Feeney, shared similar thoughts.
"I know he's crazy and everything," Feeney said. "But I don't think that he's capable of doing something like that – of killing somebody. I really don't."
David Tarloff is currently being held on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and assault.
For more information and details related to this case, click here to read my post from Feb. 14, 2008.