Hammer-wielding intruder, 28, beats world-renowned psychology professor, 66, to death in his $2.2 million Brooklyn home during a botched robbery
Jeremy D. Safran killed by hammer-wielding burglar in Ditmas Park
Police then discovered a blood-covered man hiding in a closet in the house, who cops said may have been one of Safran’s past students
The 28-year-old suspect, Mirzo Atadzhanov is believed to have wanted to rob the home
Cops said the intruder who came in a black Lexus with Ohio tags, cased the home by following and talking to his daughter
An internationally renowned psychotherapist, Jeremy Safran served as a professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York
He was for many years, the Director of Clinical Training
Mirzo Atadzhanov, 28, of Brighton Beach was charged with murder and burglary in the Monday night knife-slaying of Jeremy Safran There is no known relationship between suspect and the victim
Atadzhanov, who graduated from Brooklyn College with a master’s degree in biology in December 2017, had previously been arrested in Dec 2016 for allegedly trying to rape a tourist he hosted on his couch through the guest hosting website couchsurfing.com
Police discovered the body of New School’s Professor Jeremy D. Safran, [photo], lying on the floor in the basement of his home in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn, at around 6pm on Monday night. He was beaten to death with a hammer during, what is believed tobe a botched burglary
A world famous psychology professor was beaten to death with a hammer in the basement of his own home by a burglar. Jeremy D. Safran, a faculty member of New York’s New School was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in Brooklyn said Tuesday
Police discovered the body of married father-of-three Jeremy D. Safran, 66, lying on the floor of his home in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn, at around 6pm on Monday night.
Then they found a blood-covered man they believe to be the burglar hiding in the closet, police sources said.
When police discovered the suspect hiding in a closet on Monday evening, they found the 28-year-old man, later identified as Mirzo Atadzhanov, surrounded by several tools, including a hammer, police said. Preliminary reports reveal the man appears to the a former student of the professor.
Mirzo Atadzhanov, of Brighton Beach was charged with murder and burglary in the Monday night knife-slaying of 66-year-old Jeremy Safran.
Mirzo Atadzhanov was found hiding in a closet in the Safran home when cops responded to the calls of a break-in
Atadzhanov is believed to have followed Safran’s daughter to the property, where he briefly spoke to her in an apparent effort to case the home, sources said.
Police discovered the body of Jeremy Safran, 66, while responding to reports of a burglary in progress at a home on Stratford Road near Hinckley Place just before 6 p.m. Monday, officials said. Safran was found in the basement with trauma to his head and body, police said.
The medical examiner will determine how he died.
Police responding to reports of a break-in found Safran’s body at his Brooklyn home [photo], moments before they discovered a blood-soaked suspect hiding in a closet at the home
The 28-year-old suspect, who has not been named, is seen being led away from the home
A neighbor later spotted him break in and called the daughter after hearing the sound of screaming coming from the basement.
‘I saw him this morning when he was coming out of the car like he was coming from the supermarket,’ said neighbor Jillian Daniels.
‘It’s shocking because we’ve been here for 24 years. … You become so complacent you don’t think about something like this.’
‘It’s appalling,’ another witness said at the scene. ‘It’s a lovely looking neighborhood and it’s a great place to live.
Another neighbour said Tuesday she saw the suspected killer slip into the victim’s home.
Doreen Giuliano, 56, told reporters she noticed a man casing the Ditmas Park house of victim Jeremy Safran, 66, for hours Monday afternoon in a black Lexus.
“He parked the car, walked down the block, came back up and went down the alley. Then he got back in his car and sat there for three hours,” Giuliano said.
“He came down the alley way and put something in his trunk, and he was looking left to right, left to right, and then he went back and he went in the side door.”
In shock, Giuliano texted Safran’s wife and asked her if she had a tenant or a worker in the home.
She said “No.”
Some neighbors had seen the hammer-wielding murder suspect’s black Lexus casing the prefessor’s residence days earlier.
‘But this is New York City and you just can’t drop your guard.’
Neighbor Font Ravi Kisson told Pix 11: ‘Violent, very violent. So that scares the hell out of me. … We walk up and down here ever single night.’
The 28-year-old suspect was later taken into police custody for questioning.
Dr Safran served as a professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York where he worked for many years as Director of Clinical Training.
He was also a faculty member at New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis – and made vital contributions to the field of Emotion-Focused Therapy.
The suspect may have been one of Safran’s former students, police officials said Tuesday afternoon.
The New School released a statement saying staff and students were ‘shocked and saddened’ by the news.
It read: ‘An internationally renowned psychotherapist, Jeremy was deeply respected and admired by The New School community and his colleagues throughout the psychology profession for his work on psychoanalytic theory and practice, as well as research on psychotherapy processes and outcomes.
‘We offer our deepest condolences to his family and will be offering support to his many friends and colleagues throughout the university community in the days ahead.’
ABC captured footage of the suspect being led away by cops. He was arrested and taken to a NYPD precinct in Brooklyn.
Professor Jeremy Safran, a world renowned scholar, is seen [second left], posing at an event in Turkey in 2015.
NYPD was seen towing the suspect’s car [photo], to the 70th precinct where the Crime Scene unit immediately started processing the vehicle which had Ohio tags.
Police said they believed the 28-year old man had been intending to burgle the professor’s home.
Safran and one of the family’s two dogs in an Instagram picture taken by one of his daughters.
The 66-year-old academic who lived with his wife and daughters in his multi-millon dollar home served as a professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York where he worked for many years as Director of Clinical Training.
Initially the police thought Atadzhanov may have been a former student of Safran’s. But an NYPD spokesperson later said the suspect was not the victim’s students and that there was no known relationship between the pair.
Atadzhanov reportedly, graduated from Brooklyn College with a master’s degree in biology in December 2017.
He was arrested in December 2016 for allegedly trying to rape a tourist he hosted on his couch on Homecrest Avenue through the Web site, couchsurfing.com, according to sources.
The victim told police she had to fight off Atadzhanov in his apartment when he pulled down his pants, threw her onto a bed and punched her and tried to rape her, sources said.
She ultimately broke free and a grabbed a knife from the kitchen, cutting Atadzhanov on his hand and knee before escaping out of a window and crawling down the fire escape, according to sources.
Atadzhanov was arrested on attempted-rape, assault and forcible-touching charges, but the charges were dismissed at his arraignment after the victim had already left the country.
Sources said that before Atadzhanov allegedly broke in Safran’s single-family home in Flatbush on Monday night, he confronted Safran’s 18-year-old daughter outside the Stratford Road residence and inquired about renting a room in the house.
Later, Atadzhanov allegedly broke into the home through the back and stabbed Safran in the basement, according to sources.
After the fatal attack, Atadzhanov allegedly hid the knife in his car parked outside and went back into the basement, likely to clean up the crime scene, sources said.
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