A Long Island man has been arrested and charged for allegedly fatally stabbing his father while he was on a Zoom call with about 20 other people.
The Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement that 72-year-old Dwight Powers was on a Zoom call with a group of people at his Amityville home around noon on Thursday when the incident happened. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office said that Powers' son, 32-year-old Thomas Scully-Powers, allegedly entered the room in the middle of the chat and began beating him before leaving the room and returning with several knives.
He then allegedly stabbed his father in his back, neck and torso. Scully-Powers then jumped out of a second-story window and fled on foot. He was arrested less than an hour later.
"This is a shocking and disturbing case," Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a statement. "By the defendant's own admissions, he brutally stabbed his own father repeatedly until he was certain he was dead."
He added that people on the Zoom call reported that Powers was suddenly no longer onscreen. It's unclear whether some of them may have witnessed the stabbing, but multiple people who were on the chat quickly called police. "They just noticed him fall off the screen and then they heard heavy breathing," Suffolk County homicide Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer told Newsday.
"They all did the right thing," Beyrer said of the people who called 911 immediately. "They were all concerned about their friend. It was horrible that they had to witness this."
The motive for the killing is still unclear, but the police currently say there is no indication it was related to the pandemic. Scully-Powers has been charged with second-degree murder; he faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
The Washington Post noted that this fatal stabbing appears to be the first slaying to occur on a Zoom chat during the pandemic.
