New York police have charged a man with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed his father to death during a Zoom video chat.
Thomas Scully-Powers, 32, attacked his father Dwight while the older man was participating in a video conference call on Thursday. Several of the 20-odd people on the call reportedly called 911 after watching the killing unfold.
According to news reports, callers first saw the 72-year-old Dwight fall out of shot, then saw the younger Mr Scully-Powers appear in the background.
One person on the call told local media what they saw. “Bedsheets were being ripped off the bed by a gentleman who appeared to be naked as well as bald and he had a tattoo on his left arm,” the unidentified witness said, “and then he placed the bedsheets on the floor as if he was covering something up.”
When the police arrived at the house, Mr Scully-Powers fled by jumping from an open window, sustaining minor injuries for which he was later treated in hospital.
It took the other participants on the call some time to work out the elder man’s address before calling 911; the police ultimately apprehended the son around a mile away from the house.
Police said he remained in hospital on Thursday night.
