A Staten Island man fatally stabbed a former New York City Police Department detective in the neck on Jan. 11, while he was dropping his children off with their mother.
Police have arrested and charged 26-year-old Eric Wilson with the murder of 37-year-old former NYPD detective Nicholas Nelson.
Police told the New York Post that Nelson was dropping his children off with their mother at around 8 p.m. on Jan. 11 at 25 Elizabeth St. in West Brighton. As he was sitting in his car with his son, Wilson allegedly tried to open Nelson’s car door, setting off the altercation.
Nelson reportedly took his children inside their mother’s home while Wilson remained outside yelling for the ex-cop to come outside, according to police.
Witnesses told the New York Daily News that Wilson waited outside the home wearing a ski mask and that as Nelson came outside, Wilson accused the former NYPD detective of disrespecting him.
“I was right here when it happened,” a witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told the New York Daily News. “I just saw [the attacker] pacing back and forth … and he is yelling. Next thing you know, the guy pulls out the knife, stabs him in the neck. They were face to face. Nick was bleeding out.”
After Nelson came back out, Wilson reportedly stabbed him in the neck.
Police said Wilson, who lives up the street, left the scene following the deadly attack. Police came by to question Wilson and ultimately charged him with murder, assault and a weapons possession charge on Thursday morning.
It’s unclear if Nelson knew Wilson beforehand but sources told the New York Post the two men had no history of fighting prior to the fatal stabbing incident.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told the New York Post that Wilson’s neighbors described him as “a troubled individual who’s always causing trouble on the block.”
Wilson had worked as an NYPD detective until May 2021, when he was fired by the force after a 2018 drunk driving accident.
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