The 22-year-old Instagram model accused of using a kitchen knife and hammer to ruthlessly murder her father as he slept on a couch at their Brooklyn home in late December, a bloodbath she first blamed on two violent strangers, was driven to kill because of an argument over a laptop, prosecutors revealed at her court arraignment this week.
Nikki Secondino was sent back to Rikers Island, where she has been held without bail since the Dec. 29 bludgeoning and stabbing frenzy in Bensonhurst, after Monday's arraignment. According to the six-count indictment unsealed during the hearing, Secondino and her father, Carlo, had an argument over a laptop at some point prior to the killing.
The nature of the argument wasn't clear, but Secondino, who has amassed nearly 16,000 followers on Instagram, where her bio says "public figure," "model" and "living lookbook," allegedly snapped, prosecutors say.
She allegedly attacked her 61-year-old father as he slept on the couch around 5:20 a.m. on the third-to-last day of 2022, striking him with a hammer and then stabbing him with a kitchen knife. Her 19-year-old sister, Liana, heard commotion in the living room and came to intervene, at which point Secondino allegedly turned the knife on her, stabbing her repeatedly. The sister ended up gashed in the body, hands and face. She needed surgery but survived -- and was able to tell investigators that the story Nikki Secondino initially told had been a total fabrication, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, Nikki Secondino ran outside after the attack and told responding officers that two people had broken into her home, killed her sister and father and sexually assaulted her. She later allegedly admitted she lied.
Carlo Secondino died at the scene. The indictment unsealed Monday charges his eldest daughter with second-degree murder in his death as well as second-degree attempted murder in the attack on the sister. First-degree assault and a weapons charge have also been filed in the case. Nikki Secondino faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted.
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Prosecutors laid out a gut-wrenching case at her initial post-arrest hearing, sharing a chilling criminal complaint that details how the young woman allegedly wanted her family dead. The investigation revealed a history of domestic incident reports at the home involving Nikki Secondino and her father, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said.
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"This defendant is charged with brutally killing her own father and then stabbing her younger sister, allegedly following an argument over a laptop," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. "My office will vigorously prosecute this horrific case and seek justice for the victims."
Nikki Secondino is due back in court in April. Her attorney information wasn't clear.
