NEW YORK _ A hammer-wielding intruder killed a Brooklyn psychology professor in his home Monday night in what police believe was a botched burglary, police sources said.
Cops found Jeremy Safran, 66, a professor at the New School for Social Research, dead in the basement of his Stratford Road home in Flatbush just before 6 p.m. Then they found a blood-covered man they believe to be the burglar hiding in the closet, police sources said.
Safran had head and body trauma, cops said. The 28-year-old intruder was taken into custody for questioning.
One of Safran's neighbors saw a man breaking into the house and called one homeowner, then dialed 911, said a neighbor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Safran lived in the house with his wife and two daughters, neighbors said.
"I saw him this morning when he was coming out of the car like he was coming from the supermarket," said neighbor Jillian Daniels. "It's shocking because we've been here for 24 years. ... You become so complacent you don't think about something like this."
