Zanoor Jaffari charged with stabbing wife and 2-year-old daughter to death in Suffolk County
BRENTWOOD, N.Y. -- A Long Island man has been charged with stabbing his wife and 2-year-old daughter to death on Sunday in Suffolk County.
Police say the stabbing happened just before 5 p.m. at the family's home on Jefferson Avenue in Brentwood.
The scene was heartbreaking. A child's yellow ball, a tricycle, a toddler slide and a swing set, all within the family's gated home, were covered in police crime tape on Monday.
"They looked like good people," one neighbor said.
Others who live along Jefferson Avenue said they are at a loss to explain how or why Jaffari could stab to death his wife and young daughter as his parents and young son looked on, according to police.
"The call was for a medical event for a person not breathing and the 911 caller was hysterical," Suffolk County Police Chief of Detectives John Rowan said.
That call came from the suspect's distraught parents. First responders discovered Jaffari covered in his victims' blood, according to the district attorney.
Jaffari's wife, Misbah Batool, and daughter, Iazia, did not survive the stabbing attack.
Neighbors said they recently heard fighting for the first time.
"Terrible. It's something unbelievable. I don't know what kind of situation, if a mental issues, or I don't know what happened there, but it's something unbelievable, especially when everybody around here has kids," Luis Ferreras said.
At the nearby Islamic Center of Suffolk County, leaders said the family was new to the mosque, having recently moved to the area from Brooklyn.
Although Suffolk police have no record of calls for domestic violence, prosecutors said prior to Jaffari moving to Long Island, the suspect was linked to an alleged history of wife abuse.
The suspect's family came to court in unified support.
"He loved his wife. He interacted always with his children in his sincere and fatherly fashion and, in essence, the events, themselves, are somewhat inexplicable," defense attorney Lawrence Carra said.
"This is an unspeakable tragedy and we ask that you keep your thoughts and prayers with family of our victims," Rowan added.
Relatives have temporary custody of the couple's remaining child -- a 5-year-old son.
Jaffari claimed his innocence and was remanded. He is facing life in prison for the killings.
The suspect is expected to undergo psychological testing before his next court date.
