NYC ‘home invasion’ that left dad dead may be murder by trans daughter: sources
A Brooklyn father of two was stabbed in his apartment Thursday in what cops initially said was a home invasion — but turned out to be a murder committed by his daughter, sources told The Post.
Sources said Carlo Secondino’s 22-year-old transgender daughter, Nikki, is believed to have made up the long story about a break-in at the family’s Bensonhurst home in order to cover her tracks.
Police initially said two robbers entered the family’s home on 17th Avenue near 82nd Street around 6 a.m., demanded money from a safe and stabbed the 61-year-old father to death and butchered his two daughters. Cops said there was no safe in the house.
Niki’s sister, Liana, 19, was rushed to Maimonides Hospital in critical condition, while the father died at the scene, according to police.
Nikki was taken to NYU Langone Hospital – but was later brought to the NYPD’s 62nd Precinct and charged with murder, attempted murder and weapons possession.
The girl’s father had pleaded with the family’s neighbor to “call the cops” immediately after he was stabbed, according to the neighbor who said she saw him covered in blood.
“He was lying on the kitchen floor, blood all over his chest, soaked and red. He was laying there motionless,” Susie Lew, 61, told The Post of the scene at Secondino’s apartment Thursday morning.
Nikki knocked on Lew’s door before 6am calling for help after Lew had heard what sounded like a fight from down the hall.
“I woke up. It sounded like a body wrestle going on inside the house, like two people fighting,” recalls Lew, who lives next door to the family.
“Her bloody fingerprints are all over my door from when she was knocking on the door, hoping I would open it. And then, when she stopped banging and I heard no more movement in the hallway, I slowly opened my door and heard my dad yelling my name – ‘Suzie, call the cops!’ “
Lew said he later heard Nikki on a hallway call claim the family had been robbed by masked intruders who had stabbed the trio.
Cops arrived to find Carlo and his younger daughter with multiple stab wounds, the NYPD reported. Nikki only had wounds on her hands, the department said.
Neighbors and sources said the family had a history of violence.
Police were called to the family’s home several times this year for reports of domestic violence, sources said — including on July 15, when the father was accused of threatening to kill Liana, and on September 19, when he allegedly slapped Nick.
In a third incident, on July 14, Liana was charged with assault and criminal mischief after she ripped the blinds off the window of their apartment during a dispute with Nikki, according to police sources.
Nikki discussed her transition from male to female in YouTube videos — and it’s a journey her father supported, said Yadira Gomez, who co-owns Mike’s Diner where Carlo was a delivery boy.
But Carlo seemed distracted by “family matters” that he was reluctant to discuss, according to Gomez.
“I know there have always been fights. He always worked here all day, but during the day he always said she’s crazy, she has some problems, problems, she doesn’t want to work,” Gomez told The Post on Thursday.
“She was fighting with him yesterday and he said to the other girl: ‘Go to your friend’s house. Don’t stay here because he was worried.
The two daughters of the victim were also injured with a knife.
The account of the robbers who broke in may be fabricated, according to police.
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On Sekondino’s Facebook page, there are several photos and posts where he expresses his love for both of his daughters.
“These girls were abandoned by their mother when they were little, so he was the only one there as a mother figure and a father figure,” Gomez said. “Everybody loved that guy here. It’s a big loss for everyone. He would work. He never said no to anything, he helped everyone.”
Additional reporting by David Meyer
