The Queens landlord accused of killing his two tenants and his girlfriend over rent disputes told the press he was “under pressure” during his perp walk on Wednesday.
David Daniel, 54, was walked out of the 13th Precinct just before 1:30 p.m. by detectives after spending 24 hours in the station house for allegedly stabbing two men and a woman—now known to be his girlfriend—to death inside of his St. Albans home early Tuesday morning.
Daniel emerged from the precinct in a Tyvek suit and a band-aid pressed to the inside of his right hand. The alleged murderer was swiftly peppered with questions from reporters, demanding to know why he committed the horrendous crimes.
“A lot of pressure,” Daniel responded before being whisked into the back of an awaiting police vehicle.
This comes after Daniel turned himself in to the police at the same stationhouse on Nov. 14 at around 7:16 a.m. According to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, Daniel apparently calmly walked to the desk and announced that he had not only stabbed his fellow residents to death but also left the home unlocked for cops.
“He says that he killed three people,” Chief Kenny said. “He gave the location and [says] that he left the back door open.”
Police believe the motivations for the murders stem from a rent dispute, purportedly leading Daniel to snap and kill his tenants before taking his girlfriend along with him. Two male victims were found covered in stab wounds inside the basement while a female was also stumbled upon in the upstairs bedroom. It is not clear why he also chose to take the life of his partner.
“He indicates that he had problems with his girlfriend but the two males in the basement had not been paying their rent,” Chief Kenny added.
Police say that Daniel did not have the weapon on him when he confessed the crimes to police. However, law enforcement secured search warrants in hopes of recovering it as of Nov. 14.
Daniel is charged with three counts of murder.
Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell
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