Famed NYC University Professor Found Dead in Home, Suspect Covered in Blood Arrested

A professor of psychology at the New School in New York City was found dead in his home on Monday night, May, 7, officials said, adding that a suspect was arrested.

The suspect, who is 28, attacked professor Jeremy D. Safran at around 6 p.m. local time at 155 Stratford Road in Flatbush, police told the New York Post. The attacker is said to have followed Safran’s daughter to the location and spoke to her in an attempt to investigate the home, police said.

A neighbor said that he broke in and called the daughter.

Sources told the Post that someone then called 911. When police arrived, Safran was found on the floor. A hammer lay next to his body, and the suspect was hiding inside the closet, covered in blood, CBS New York reported.

New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner found that Safran died of stab wounds to his body and deemed his death a homicide, AM New York reported.

Charges against the suspect are pending, police said.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said that a motive in the killing is not clear, adding that the suspect may have been a student of Safran.

In a statement, the New School, located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, wrote that it is “shocked and saddened to learn last night of the tragic death of Jeremy Safran.”

“An internationally renowned psychotherapist, Jeremy was deeply respected and admired by The New School community and his colleagues throughout the psychology profession for his work on psychoanalytic theory and practice, as well as research on psychotherapy processes and outcomes,” the school said, according to CBS New York. “We offer our deepest condolences to his family and will be offering support to his many friends and colleagues throughout the university community in the days ahead.”

The name of the suspect has not yet been revealed in media reports. Other details about the case were not released.

Residents who lived close to Safran commented on the incident.

“My heart really goes out to the families,” said James Hill, the CBS affiliate reported. “They must have felt so helpless during this tragedy.”

“Very quiet person, as long as we’ve been living here 24 years or so. My daughter used to babysit for his daughters,” said resident Reginald Daniels.

“He’s a great guy as far as I know,” another neighbor told the network. “It’s a tightknit community here, a lot of our kids grew up together. It’s just needless—pointless, stupid. It’s just a pointless waste of a life”

Neighbors also gave police surveillance footage of a stranger inside a black Lexus, CBS reported.

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