LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK – A woman from Queens was taken into custody by Suffolk police on suspicion of fatally stabbing her 84-year-old mother in Dix Hills on Wednesday evening.
According to Suffolk police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing at a residence on Carman Court at 9:08 p.m., where they discovered the victim, Josephine Bekatoros, with multiple stab wounds. Homicide detectives subsequently apprehended Diana Bekatoros, the victim’s 51-year-old daughter, at her apartment on Center Boulevard in Long Island City and charged her with second-degree murder. She is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.
As Diana Bekatoros was being escorted from the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge for her arraignment, she was questioned by a photographer from Newsday. In response, she cryptically stated, “I never had a mother,” as she was escorted to a police van with her hands restrained.
Neighbors expressed shock at the incident, with one resident from the neighborhood where the victim resided for over three decades recalling Josephine Bekatoros as a friendly and well-dressed woman who was beloved in the community. She had been dealing with health issues but still maintained a vibrant presence, even driving herself around in recent years.
Public records indicate that Josephine and her husband had purchased their home in 1989, where they raised a family that included a son and granddaughter. While the motive behind the tragic stabbing remains unclear, residents remember Diana Bekatoros living at the house with her parents before moving out several years ago.
The community is left reeling from the news of the violent incident, as they struggle to comprehend how such a tragedy could unfold in their quiet neighborhood. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the stabbing continues as authorities work to piece together the events leading up to the fatal confrontation.