Inset: Melida Velasquez (Facebook/Iglesia Adventista Salem Elim). Background: The Long Island, N.Y., home where Melida Velasquez was allegedly murdered by her son Jason Kurumoglu on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 (News 12 Long Island/YouTube).
A man from New York is incarcerated for allegedly fatally stabbing his mother in their shared home, situated across from an elementary school, just hours after school ended, authorities report.
“They discovered her upstairs with multiple knives lodged in her, and she’s deceased,” a Brentwood resident and neighbor informed News 12 Long Island following the Tuesday evening murder of Melida Velasquez, 59, from Brentwood. “She had just returned from El Salvador last week,” the neighbor noted.
Jason Kurumoglu, 33, faces charges of second-degree murder for his mother’s death, who was remembered by her church in a Facebook post describing Velasquez as a “beloved sister” who will be “deeply missed by her church family and all who knew her.”
Police arrived at the family’s single-story residence in Brentwood around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, shortly after classes concluded at North Elementary School across the street, as reported by News 12. District officials sent a notification to parents on Wednesday informing them of the incident and assured that the investigation would not affect operations.
“We are aware of a police investigation occurring near North Elementary School,” Brentwood Superintendent of Schools Wanda Ortiz-Rivera stated.
“Please be assured that the incident is unrelated to the school, and all students and staff are safe,” Ortiz-Rivera said. “The school remains open and operating on a normal schedule. We remain in contact with law enforcement and will provide updates if necessary.”
Details and a motive have not been released by local authorities yet, with Kurumoglu scheduled to make his first appearance in court Thursday, according to online records. He is being arraigned and charged in Suffolk County District Court.
Another neighbor told Newsday that while did not know Velasquez personally, news of her death has spread throughout the typically quiet Long Island community of Brentwood, which is about 50 miles east of New York City.
‘I’ve been here 20 years. We’ve never had anything like this,” the neighbor said. “I never thought something like this could happen.”
The post ‘A bunch of knives sticking out of her’: Son slaughters mom in home they shared across from elementary school, cops and neighbors say first appeared on Law & Crime.
