Brooklyn detectives continue to investigate the horrific murder of a senior couple inside their home on Saturday evening.
Law enforcement sources said the couple may have been stabbed to death by their own son, who was taken into custody following a brief standoff with police. Charges against him, however, were still pending as of Sunday morning — and the NYPD continues to classify him as a person of interest.
Police said the horrific discovery was made at about 5:20 p.m. on Jan. 20 inside the home of Jacob and Rachel Sperber on the 1100 block of 45th Street in Borough Park.
Neighbors stood outside of their homes in shock on Jan. 19 as they watched cops surround the apartment building and set up a crime scene.
Officers from the 66th Precinct and the NYPD Emergency Services Unit descended upon the location after receiving a 911 call reporting that a senior married couple had been attacked inside their second-floor apartment.
Upon entering the location, cops discovered Jacob and Rachel Sperber, both 75 years of age, with stab wounds all across the bodies. The pair were rushed to Maimonides Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.
Police sources said the Sperbers’ son, a 46-year-old man, then barricaded himself inside the home after the slayings, leading to a standoff with heavily armed cops.
“This is an insane police presence,” 56-year-old neighbor Robin Clark commented while watching the dramatic scene unfold. “This is a tragedy. I hope everything is resolved peacefully.”
After an impasse that lasted about an hour, police managed to convince the Sperbers’ son to give himself up. According to the New York Post, the man was taken into custody while strapped down to a stretcher.
The motive for the murders are not currently clear; however, the deaths rocked the normally quiet community, leaving locals stunned.
“I’ve never seen this before; cops just swamped the building. This is tragic for the community. This never happens here,” 72-year-old neighbor Esther McCleary said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
