STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Authorities allege that a 44-year-old man from Charleston showed no remorse when he allegedly confessed to the brutal stabbing that ended the life of 72-year-old Eugene Reba.
Based on information in the criminal complaint, Seneca Morciglio in accused of fatally attacking Reba up to four days before the senior’s lifeless body was found on Nov. 14 inside his apartment at 1290 Richmond Avenue in Graniteville.
Morciglio, of Ambassador Lane, also allegedly “attempted to destroy evidence of the crime by burning it,” according to the criminal complaint.
Morciglio was arrested on Saturday and charged in the killing that occurred at about 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 inside the victim’s apartment. The suspect allegedly repeatedly struck and stabbed Reba, thereby causing the death of the 72-year-old man, according to the criminal complaint and police.
“The person I killed is Eugene Reba,” the criminal complaint quotes Morciglio as saying to police. “It happened about a month ago.
“I’ve been living on the street and I’m tired of running. I killed this man. I don’t regret it.”
Morciglio allegedly told police that he tossed the murder weapon, a knife, and the 72-year-old victim’s cell phone into a river, according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect and the victim were acquaintances who were seen together by a witness, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
The investigation by the 121st Precinct Detective Squad was based on a review of video-surveillance footage, conversations with witnesses and the defendant’s own statements, according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect has been charged with murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, according to the criminal complaint.
The suspect, who stands about 5′11″ tall and weighs about 170 pounds, has been remanded to jail and currently is being held at Rikers Island. He is due back in Criminal Court on Friday, according to public records.
Attorney Richard Terrazas, who is representing Morciglio, declined to comment at this time.
DISTANT CRIMINAL HISTORY FOR SUSPECT
The suspect has been arrested a total of five times in New York City. Until Saturday, the suspect’s most recent arrest was about 14 years ago for alleged fare evasion in 2008. He was accused in 2006 of aggravated harassment for making threats by phone in a domestic-violence case. Arrests in 2002 and 1998 were for alleged robberies, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Morciglio was convicted in March 2003 of attempted robbery in the third degree in Supreme Court in Brooklyn, according to the criminal complaint.
VICTIM FOUND STABBED IN HIS APARTMENT
Police had responded to a 911 call of an aided, unconscious male inside Reba’s apartment when they found the 72-year-old man unconscious and unresponsive in his bed. He had stab wounds in his torso, according to the police statement.
EMS responded to the location and pronounced Reba dead at the scene. The incident was deemed a homicide.
A home health aide showed up for her shift, but could not reach the victim, triggering a request for police, according to multiple sources.
Reba suffered stab wounds to the right side of his torso and was found wrapped in blankets in his bed, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Reba, who had no criminal record in New York City, is believed to have lived alone. Although Reba received the services of a home health aide, he was not confined to his bed and came and went from his apartment, the source said.
His home was not ransacked and there were no signs of forced entry, the source said.
A GRIM DISCOVERY
“They were like, ‘No one has seen him for a couple of weeks. Can you please get into the apartment?’” Kafader recalled.
Kafader said he scaled up the balcony to Reba’s apartment, finding his way in through the patio door.
He described the victim’s bedroom as being “a little hot” with a strong odor.
Upon hearing of the arrest, Kafader said “it’s good that it wasn’t a tenant, but at the same time this is New York.”
A neighbor told reporters that the victim lived there for just a few months.
MORE STATEN ISLAND NEWS:
>> Cops investigate possible hate crime on Staten Island as dad and son hit by BB gun
>> Long-awaited $2.4M sidewalk project coming to busy Staten Island street
>> Attention Staten Island drivers: MTA S79 bus-mounted cameras to begin issuing tickets this month