The man charged with fatally stabbing his mother and slashing and trying to incinerate his brother in their East Harlem apartment was held without bail at his arraignment yesterday.
David Elias, 31, was led from Manhattan Criminal Court to jail yesterday, staggering and swaying in his handcuffs and leg chains.
He wore a hospital gown, gym shorts and socks, replacements for his blood- soaked clothing.
Elias, 31, has confessed to Saturday’s attack on his mother, Ruth Montano, 55, and his brother, William, 32, prosecutors said.
“This is a very serious case — one of the most serious crimes a defendant can commit,” Assistant District Attorney Shawn McMahon said.
“He attacked his brother with a kitchen knife,” McMahon said. “He stabbed his mother at least twice in the chest.”
Elias then allegedly set fire to a couch in the living room, which quickly spread and trapped the injured brother in a back bedroom. The brother survived.
As he left the building, which is on Park Avenue near 135th Street, “The defendant’s face was covered in blood,” McMahon said.