Landlord arrested after 3 people found stabbed to death in New York City home

A landlord was arrested and charged Tuesday after three people were found fatally stabbed inside a New York City home, authorities said.

The 54-year-old landlord had turned himself in at a police station Tuesday morning and confessed, according to New York Police Department Assistant Chief Kevin Williams. Officers then discovered three victims inside a home in the residential neighborhood of St. Albans in Queens.

"Earlier this morning, a 54-year-old man walked into the 113th precinct, stating to uniformed police officers that he was having issues with his tenants," Williams said during a news conference Tuesday. "The officer inquired further, and the male stated that he did something bad."

The three victims, two women and a man, were found unconscious and unresponsive at the scene, according to Williams. Responding officers had rendered aid to the victims but emergency responders pronounced all three victims deceased at the scene.

The suspect was identified as David Daniel and is currently facing murder charges in connection to the deaths, The New York Times reported. Police said Daniel is in custody and the investigation remains ongoing.

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Responding officers arrived at the Queens home shortly after 7 a.m. and found two of the victims — a woman and a man — in a bedroom in the basement, police said. A third victim, another woman, was discovered in a bedroom upstairs. A knife was also found at the scene.

Williams said the suspect had appeared "as calm as we thought possibly can be when he engaged the officers," at the police station Tuesday.

Officials have not yet identified the victims but the Times reported that Daniel told police that two of the victims were his tenants and the third victim was his girlfriend. Police added that no children lived in the home and all the victims were adults.

Investigators believe that the violence may be connected to a dispute between Daniel and the tenants over unpaid rent, according to the Times and CBS New York.

The incident shocked the quiet neighborhood of St. Albans, which consists of single and multifamily homes. WABC-TV reported that the home where the stabbings occurred appeared to be well-kept and that neighbors had courteous interactions with the tenants and landlord.

"I've lived here for 13 years. This is the first this ever happened," resident Archer Dudley told CBS New York. 

Latest incident involving New York City landlord

Tuesday's incident is the latest involving a New York City landlord. Rafiqul Islam, 66, was arrested earlier this month after he was accused of setting a building on fire with residents inside over unpaid rent.

Islam had set an interior staircase on fire at a South Brooklyn apartment, according to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). Officials said Islam was angry that "his second-floor tenants stopped paying rent and refused to move out."

"Two adults and six children were home at the time of the fire and escaped," the FDNY said in a news release. "Interviews with the fire victims revealed Mr. Islam had been threatening to cut off their gas and electric, and ultimately threatened to burn the house down if he wasn’t paid his rent."

The Brooklyn landlord was charged with several offenses including eight counts of attempted murder, assault and arson, according to the FDNY.

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Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY