The Brooklyn woman accused of brutally murdering her father and stabbing her kid sister faced an ultimatum from her dad to leave the family home in 30 days — and her relatives were seeking a restraining order against her — prosecutors revealed Monday.
Nikki Secondino, 22, snapped after years of family turmoil, confessing to bludgeoning her father with a hammer and stabbing him until he died. She nearly killed her younger sister, too, with a flurry of stabs inside their Bensonhurst home on Dec. 29, authorities say.
Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said Monday that she last argued with her father, Carlo Secondino, 61, over a laptop computer.
Nikki Secondino was indicted in Brooklyn Supreme Court Monday on murder, attempted murder and other charges. She could face 50 years to life behind bars if convicted.
Court documents show how Secondino tried to blame the killing on a pair of home-invasion robbers and gave police a hint of what spurred her into a murderous rage.
“They took my f—ing family. Two men broke into the kitchen. They left through the window in the kitchen. They stabbed my father and sister. They tied me up. They tried to rape me,” she told police about 40 minutes after the killing, according to court filings.
When detectives interviewed her again almost nine hours later, though, they learned new information about her family situation and concluded that her story didn’t hold up.
“My father told me I had 30 days to get out of the house. They were trying to get a restraining order against me. Then we went to sleep,” she initially told detectives. “I woke up to go to the bathroom and [two] men came [into my] house. One had a gun and put it to [my] head and asked for the info for the safe.”
When pressed, she admitted what she’d done, court filings allege.
“I came out of the bedroom and I saw my father sitting on the couch sleeping and I bashed his head with a hammer. I grabbed my favorite German steel knife and I stabbed the s— out of him,” she told the investigators, according to court filings.
“My sister came out and she tried to stop me, and then I stabbed her in the back and the head and stomach. I wanted them dead. If I saw the 911 caller, she would be next. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t need to. I don’t remember where I put the knife, but I am sure you will find it.”
The sister, 19-year-old Liana Secondino, was critically injured and needed surgery.
Neighbors recalled a tumultuous relationship between Nikki Secondino and her father, and police responded to several reports of domestic violence in their 17th Ave. home. Prosecutors said that he had expressed fear about her in the past.
Secondino is transgender, while social media posts by her father indicate that he was a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump. Trump rolled back Obama-era guidance on allowing transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice and set a policy that largely barred transgender individuals from serving in the military. President Biden reversed the military ban shortly after he was sworn in in 2021.
Still, in a nearly two-hour interview posted to YouTube about her transition, Nikki Secondino said her father supported her transition — and family friends said he paid for her gender reassignment surgery two years ago.
Justice Elizabeth Warin ordered Secondino remain held without bail. She returns to court April 5.
Attempts to reach her lawyer for comment were unsuccessful Monday.
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