February 16, 2008 Investigators question man in connection with brutal NY murder

NEW YORK (AP) - Investigators questioned a man Saturday in the
slaying of a psychologist who was hacked in her office with a meat
cleaver and knife, a law enforcement source said.

The 39-year-old Queens man was taken into custody early Saturday
after investigators linked him to forensic evidence at the bloody
crime scene, according to the official, who spoke on the condition
of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Therapist Kathryn Faughey was found stabbed 15 times in her
Manhattan office Tuesday evening. A psychiatrist who worked in the
building, Dr. Kent Shinbach, came to Faughey's aid and was badly
injured.

No other details on the man being questioned were immediately
available, including whether he was considered a suspect.

Also Saturday, hundreds of Faughey's friends, family, and former
patients attended her funeral at St. Monica's Roman Catholic
Church, just down the street from the scene of the crime.

Investigators said a pudgy, balding, middle-aged man arrived
around 8 p.m. Tuesday, telling the doorman he had an appointment
with Shinbach, then sat in the waiting room with another of
Shinbach's patients until the patient went into his office around
8:30 p.m.

Sometime after that, the man entered Faughey's office and
attacked her. Shinbach came to her aid but was assaulted and robbed
of $90.

Blood was splattered

on the walls and pooled on the floor of
Faughey's office. Blood also was found on the basement door, police
said.
It was unclear whether the man taken into custody was a patient
of Faughey or Shinbach. Police said this week the investigation was
hampered by state and federal privacy laws that require a court
order for patient records.

But Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday the case had
strong forensic evidence, and investigators were working with blood
and DNA samples from the scene.

The Queens man is at least the second person questioned in the
slaying. On Thursday, detectives traveled to Pennsylvania to
interview a friend of Faughey who spoke to the psychologist that
day. He was not considered a suspect, police said.

The suspect left behind two bags near the basement door where he
escaped. The bags were filled with adult diapers, women's clothing,
rope, duct tape and eight knives apparently not used in the attack,
police said.

Shinbach was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill
Cornell Medical Center with slash wounds on his head, face and
hands. The hospital declined to release any information about
Shinbach on Saturday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)