Overview

• Damien Hurstel, 19, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon after his stepfather was found dead in a West Brighton home, police said.
• Officers responding just before 4:30 p.m. Monday found the 45-year-old in a bathtub with multiple stab wounds to the head and neck, and police sources confirmed decapitation with a knife still in the body.
• Investigators say a teenage girl arrived home, saw blood throughout the house, and discovered the victim after her brother told her he had "done something bad."
• Hurstel has no prior arrests, his arraignment is pending, and officials said it remains unclear what led to the fatal attack.
• Friends identified the victim as a longtime New York City Sanitation Department worker on disability for severe vision loss who was nearing retirement, with neighbors expressing shock at the killing.