Photo: First responders last Sunday braced stabbing victim David Hightower for transport to an area hospital. He would succumb to his injuries. Forum Photo by Robert Stridiron.
A Richmond Hill college student on Monday was arraigned on charges that he stabbed his step-father to death in their 114th Street home, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Nickel McLean, 19, has been charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
According to the charges, McLean returned home from playing soccer on Sunday afternoon and got into an argument over chores with his step-father, David Hightower, 50, who lives in the same home. McLean allegedly told police that Hightower argued with him about washing the dishes, threatened him and struck him. Hightower was stabbed multiple times in the chest, abdomen and arm, and later died at an area hospital.
Hightower’s step-son, Nickel McLean, has been arraigned on second-degree murder and other charges in the incident. Forum Photo by Robert Stridiron
Brown said that McLean “is accused of taking the life of his step-father following a confrontation over washing the dishes. A life has been brutally taken and a young man, who could have had a promising future before him, is now facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.”
Deputy Inspector Deodat Urprasad, commanding officer of the 102nd Precinct, called the murder an “unfortunate incident…just a domestic situation that could not be prevented.”
Homicides are up in the 102, according to the latest available CompStat numbers. Including the McLean-Hightower tragedy, there have been three murders in 2015, up from zero at this time last year.
McLean’s next court date is scheduled for May 4. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
