Distraught relatives of a 6-year-old boy slain in a Brooklyn elevator raged at his accused killer’s lawyer Friday after the attorney said he might push for an insanity defense for his client.
The lawyer’s comments came minutes after a Brooklyn judge said the suspect had been found mentally fit to stand trial.
Asked about an insanity defense for his client, Daniel St. Hubert, outside court, lawyer Edward Friedman told reporters, “It’s still an open issue. I still have time to offer it.”
The answer enraged the nearby family of murdered little Prince Joshua “P.J.” Avitto.
“That’s a bunch of bulls—! Your god—- client killed him!” yelled P.J.’s mom, Aricka McClinton, pointing her finger at Friedman.
Anabelle Diaz, the boy’s godmother, yelled as Friedman retreated into an elevator, “So I guess the DNA and all the other stuff is like fake? Get the f— out of here!”
In court, Judge Neil Firetog said he had two reports from psychiatrists who interviewed St. Hubert before saying, “The defendant has been found fit.”
St. Hubert was not present in court and appeared on video link. But just his electronic image was enough to draw furious jeers from the family members of his alleged victims who packed the courtroom
St. Hubert is suspected of stabbing to death 18-year-old Tanaya Grant-Copeland a few days before his elevator rampage, which also critically injured P.J.’s 7-year-old pal, Mikayla Capers.
“Bastard,” said a woman related to Grant-Copeland. “He’s trying to hide his face, the motherf—–.”
Family members of Mikayla were also in court.
P.J. and Mikayla were in the elevator of their East New York building going to get ice cream when “Brooklyn Ripper” Hubert allegedly stabbed P.J. to death and left Mikayla wounded.
St. Hubert will next appear in court Oct. 17.