The psycho who hacked an Upper East Side shrink to death left behind two bags filled with knives, women’s clothing and adult diapers – and gave a terrifying warning to the colleague who tried to save her: “I know where you live,” sources told The Post.
The madman – still at large and unidentified early today – may have been a patient of tragic Kathryn Faughey, 56, or Dr. Kent Shinbach, 70, who was recuperating from knife wounds he suffered in the Tuesday-night bloodbath, the sources said.
After slashing Shinbach in the face, hand and head, the killer pinned him against the wall with a chair, ripped his wallet containing his driver’s license from his pants, took $90, and made the dark threat.
He used a meat cleaver – leaving it by Faughey’s slashed corpse – and two knives during the rampage.
“I’m scared – there’s a murderer on the loose,” said a female patient who scuffled with the madman after the attack.
The woman had been with Shinbach when he left to run to Faughey’s aid. After he didn’t return, she went into the waiting area – only to confront the killer, who tried to push her into a bathroom, the sources said.
She told cops she kicked him in the groin, warned him police would be coming, and then locked the door behind him as he fled, the sources said.
Video surveillance tapes showed the killer was in the building at 435 E. 79th Street for 59 minutes. He fled through the basement, leaving a carry-on bag and a rolling suitcase behind.
The smaller bag contained eight steak knives, duct tape and rope; the second had the women’s clothing and diapers.
Police recovered the murder weapons. Faughey’s office looked like a butcher shop – blood covered everything, and furniture and books were tossed around as if a tornado had hit.
“This is a violent, angry crime,” said retired Detective Mike Charles, who believes the killer must have known one or both of the psychologists. “How violent is it that you bring a meat cleaver? This is rage and anger.”
The knives were bent from the sheer force of the attacks. Even the cleaver had a dislodged handle and bent blade.
The violence unfolded at 8 p.m., when the killer walked into the building and told doorman Francisco Batista that he had an appointment with Shinbach, who was already with the female patient.
He then walked into Faughey’s office next door, whipped out the cleaver and began hacking her.
After the cleaver’s blade bent and its handle broke, he switched to a 9-inch kitchen knife to finish her off.
Faughey suffered 15 gashes on her face, torso and head. The death blow was a deep wound to the back of her skull.
Hearing her blood-curdling screams, Shinbach ran into the room. The killer looked him in the eyes and coldly said, “She’s dead.”
Then he unleashed his wrath on Shinbach with another knife. The two struggled for nearly 10 minutes, police said.
After his brief struggle with Shinbach’s patient, the killer fled down the back stairwell to the basement, abandoned his bags in the hallway and got out through a fire door.
Surveillance cameras captured the man leaving at 8:59 p.m.
“What is the reason for bringing these things and why did he leave the bags behind?” Charles wondered. “Maybe there were some motherhood issues. Perhaps in therapy, something came out about his childhood. All of that will be looked at by detectives.”
Because of privacy laws, police hadn’t been able to access patient records as of late yesterday, sources said.
Shinbach crawled to the window and yelled for help. Batista, who’d been on a break, called cops at 9:04 p.m.
Police spent yesterday searching for the madman, described as about 40, 5-foot-8 to 5-10 and 200 pounds, with a small bald spot on the back of his head.
Officers yesterday were stationed outside the homes of Shinbach and his relatives, as well as some of the other therapists and employees who worked with Faughey.
Throughout the day, Shinbach’s wife, daughter and son-in-law visited him at New York Hospital, where he was in serious but stable condition after surgery.
His wife, Natalie Wayne, realized something was wrong when Shinbach didn’t show up at a restaurant where they’d planned to meet Tuesday night. She walked to his office and noticed a commotion.
“She was yelling, ‘My husband! My husband!’ ” said Natalie Berkowitz, who lives in the building and who, seeing Wayne, told her what had happened.
“She didn’t know if he was the one that died. Then police came over and told her, ‘He is alive.’ He was taken out all bandaged and bleeding. Then he said to her, ‘Natalie, I’m fine.’ ”
Faughey’s brother, Kevin, was devastated.
“She went into psychology to help people with their difficulties,” he said. “She made everyone proud of her and the work she did. It’s a total shock and we can’t believe it.
“She was a hardworking and dedicated professional focused on doing a good job for her patients. She never mentioned anything about being fearful.”
Madeline Adam said her sister-in-law “was a beautiful person inside and out.”
Meanwhile, startled neighbors worried about the killer in their midst.
“This is quite frightening, terrifying, and very, very sad,” said Vicki Nathan, who lives in the building.
“I’ve raised my children here thinking this was a safe building.”
One neighbor recalled hearing a man she believes was the slasher yelling just before 8 p.m. yesterday.
“I heard a man screaming, ‘No one is helping me, no one is helping me!’ ” said Ziva Hetzroni, who lives across the street, in the high-rise where Faughey also lived with her husband.
“It was just a bunch of screaming. It was scary.”
One of Faughey’s longtime patients, Barbara Camwell, said the slay victim once told her that she’d switched from a career as an X-ray technologist to psychotherapy “because she wanted to fulfill her need to give.”
“She basically saw me through some of the most difficult things of my life,” Camwell said. “She’s been my doctor for 14 years.
“I can’t believe I’m not going to be able to pick up the phone and call her.
“She was the best.”
Additional reporting by Peter Cox, Lorena Mongelli, Austin Fenner, Erika Martinez, Tim Perone, John Mazor, Hasani Gittens and Gemma Jones