A schizophrenic madman butchered his father with a pair of scissors inside of their Upper West Side home and nearly killed his mother on Tuesday, police sources said.
Anthony Powe, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder and assault after allegedly picking up scissors during an argument with his dad, Darlington Powe, and repeatedly stabbing him in the face and chest inside of the family’s Columbus Avenue apartment around 6 a.m., cops said.
“I heard a woman screaming in the apartment below,” said a porter who works in the building. “I heard her say, ‘Stop, you’re going to kill him! Oh my God, no!’”
He then allegedly turned the scissors on his 56-year-old mom, Alicia Powe, driving them into her chest before fleeing the blood spattered apartment.
The killer’s 71-year-old father, was pronounced dead at the scene, while his mother, was listed in stable condition at St. Lukes Hospital.
Anthony Powe then ran through Central Park before cops found him on East 96th Street wearing only a pair of underwear, police sources said.
“I can’t believe it, I just can’t,” said the killer’s stunned sister, Rochelle Powe, 44, who raced down to the family’s home after hearing the news. “I have no idea why he did this.”
She said her brother suffered from schizophrenia but never thought he would hurt anyone.
“He isn’t well, but he was never violent,” she said. “He loved my father. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
Another sibling said that Anthony had his own apartment on the Upper East Side, but that he often stayed with his parents because they were concerned about him being alone.
“They didn’t want him to be homeless,” said another sister. “No one saw this coming. It’s very sad.”
She said her brother had recently started taking a new medication approximately two weeks ago and said it’s possible that it may have led to the brutal slaying of her parents.
Police Tuesday were investigating the killer’s 93rd Street apartment, where people who knew Anthony said they had heard banging the night before.
Police said they had responded to several domestic incidents involving the family since December 2004, with the last call coming last Dec. 29 over a family argument. Seven out of the eight incidents occurred at Anthony’s east side pad, cops said.