A Connecticut man admitted to murdering his octogenarian father earlier this month in a very gruesome method. Steven James Uricchio, 31, is charged with one count of murder, a class A felony, according to jail records. In Connecticut, capital murder is reserved for a small number of offenses. In this case, the defendant faces a term of 25 to 60 years in prison.
Police say the defendant viciously murdered his father over the weekend during a domestic violence dispute before calling 911 to confess. On Saturday, at about 1 a.m., police arrived at 27 Powderhorn Drive in Ridgefield, a medium-sized hamlet in the Berkshire Mountains’ foothills, near the New York State line.
Officers discovered Marc Uricchio, 83, inside the house, and paramedics pronounced him dead there, according to police.
According to Ridgefield Police Department spokesperson Jeff Raines, an early press release described the crime scene as a “domestic incident” and stated that officers “determined that an elderly male was deceased inside the residence.”
The defendant appeared in court on Monday, and the police report revealed significantly more graphic facts about the slaying. “Uricchio admitted, ‘I murdered him.’ According to an arrest report and affidavit acquired by regional cable news network News 12 Connecticut, Uricchio hesitated and said,’very, really horribly,'”
According to a police report obtained by The Hour, a Norwalk-based publication, when officers arrived, the defendant was already outside the residence with his hands raised. Down on the pavement, officers noticed the man was sweating profusely and had blood on his hands. Then he told cops where his father was.
Blood drops purportedly led the way.
According to investigators, the elder Uricchio was located in his upstairs bedroom. The man’s body was on the ground, facing the doorway.
Police claimed blood was seen on both sides of the wall. A bloody fish filleting knife sat at the top of the stairs outside the bedroom door.
The causes of the distinctive carmine stains quickly became clear.
“The victim’s face, lower torso/abdomen, and groin were mutilated,” according to the authorities. “What appeared to be internal organs from the above-mentioned areas were on the outside of the body.”
The younger Uricchio was detained and charged without incident.
He refused to enter a plea at his arraignment, according to The Hour. News 12 Connecticut says that the defendant had to be brought into the courtroom. And then, after being seated next to his attorney, he flopped forward over the defense table, intending to stay there, according to Danbury’s News-Times newspaper.
“Mr. Uricchio, please stand up. Mr. Uricchio, please stand up,” Superior Court Judge Thomas Saadi instructed.
During Monday’s proceedings, both the prosecution and the defense requested a competency evaluation.
“There is a significant mental health history here, and I’ll provide more information to the state,” defense attorney William Dow told the court.
The judge granted the requests.
Police allege that the suspect was taken to a hospital over the weekend for stomach troubles and interrogated by physicians. He allegedly stated that he was prescribed medication but had not taken it “in a month or two” and admitted to occasionally using marijuana.
Later, the alleged killer’s attorney took a philosophical approach.
“This is a tragedy on a Shakespearean scale,” Dow told News 12 Connecticut following the hearing. “It has devastated the family as well as my client.”
Steven Uricchio is scheduled to appear in court on September 4 as per Lawandcrime.