Man slashes throat of woman

A MAN slit the throat of a woman babysitting her two grandchildren, sexually assaulted one of the children, then barricaded himself inside their home for 14 hours before shooting himself.

A woman returned to her home in Long Island, New York, at about 12.30am on Monday to find her 59-year-old mother lying in a pool of blood in the garage, police said.

Phillip Zagarella, 50, looming in a doorway with a rifle, yelled for the woman to get inside, but she ran to a neighbour’s home and called police to say her children, aged 10 and 13, were still inside, Detective Lieutenant Jack Fitzpatrick said.

The children were freed a few hours later. Police did not release any information on their condition.

Police said they negotiated with Zagarella by telephone for hours and determined he was drunk. They sent a robot to try to get inside, but Zagarella shot at it. When police, who also used tear gas, entered the home at 2.50pm, Zagarella was already dead.

Police were unsure why he took the family hostage. They said he had worked for the woman’s ex-husband, had been convicted of attempted murder and was a recovering alcoholic.