Charles Okonkwo Jr., a Long Island, New York,
teenager with a history of psychiatric problems
killed his 15-year old brother and brutally beat his
mother — a respected physician — into a coma
over the weekend, police say.Okonkwo, 18, has
been charged with assault on his mother, Chinwe
Okonkwo, 52, on Saturday in Dix Hill, New York,
but does not yet face charges on the death of
Bradley Okonkwo.
Mrs Okonkwo, a Brooklyn doctor, has received the
Congressional Leadership Award and runs Hope
Outreach Foundation, a nonprofit organization that
promote public health in Brooklyn and across the
world.
Charles Okonkwo Sr., Mrs Okonkwo’s husband,
returned home from a hospital stay on Saturday
night and found his son Bradley dead in his
bedroom. His wife was laying unconscious in a
pool of blood next to her car in the garage,
Newsday reports.
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Mrs Okonkwo was airlifted to a nearby hospital,
where she remains in critical condition. She
suffered facial fractures and doctors have had to
relieve swelling on her brain.
Medical examiners could not immediately
determine Bradley Okonkwo’s cause of death and
are doing more tests to try to determine how he
died.Charles Okonkwo Jr. was arrested Saturday
night shortly after the attack was discovered. He
had fled the family home in his parents’ BMW X5
SUV, but was spotted by police just a short
distance away from the crime scene.
He admitted to ‘hurting’ his mother and little
brother, authorities say. In court on Sunday, a
defense said that Charles Okonkwo Jr. had a
history of mental illness, but didn’t elaborate on
what sorts of problems he has.Authorities also
offered no motive for the alleged attack. Members
of Long Island’s Nigerian immigrant community
stopped by the Okonkwo house on Sunday to pay
their respects to the family.
A family friend Lawrence Monwe told Newsday
that: “This is very tragic. No one saw it coming.
This was the perfect family you wouldn’t expect it
to happen to.”
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