Jason S. Kurumoglu, of Brentwood, charged in mother's death, walked around crime scene 'as if he was walking in a park,' prosecutor says

The Brentwood man accused of fatally stabbing his mother calmly stepped around her body — which was facedown on the kitchen floor, a knife protruding from her back — when police responded to a 911 call from the home they shared, a Suffolk prosecutor said Thursday.

Jason S. Kurumoglu, 30, had blood on his hands when officers arrived at the scene, Assistant District Attorney Eric Aboulafia said during an arraignment in Central Islip, acting "as if he was walking in a park."

Attorney Peter Mayer, of Hauppauge, entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Kurumoglu, who is charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of his mother, Melida Velasquez, 59. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

District Court Judge Bernard Cheng ordered Kurumoglu, who wore a white Tyvek suit and had a blank expression on his face during the arraignment, to be held without bail. The judge ordered Kurumoglu to return to court on Monday.

Mayer protested Aboulafia’s description of Kurumoglu as cool and calm at the murder scene, telling Cheng his client enjoys a presumption of innocence and his demeanor at the home does not prove culpability.

"He is trying to inflame the passions of people in the courtroom and more importantly, since the press is here, he’s trying to inflame the passions of everybody in general throughout the county," Mayer told reporters after the arraignment. "Now if and when we go to trial, we’re going to have a selection of jurors, and we are going to need those jurors to be fair and impartial."

Aboulafia did not provide a motive for the slaying, but said police have overwhelming evidence, including surveillance video, to convict Kurumoglu if the case goes to trial.

The prosecutor said a neighbor who lived below the apartment Kurumoglu shared with Velasquez, the neighbor's mother and sister told investigators she heard screams on Tuesday afternoon. The neighbor said she identified the screams as coming from Velasquez, who she later heard say, "God help me" and then a thud, as if somebody had fallen to the floor.

Kurumoglu’s sister returned to the home at about 5 p.m. and found her mother’s body in the kitchen, a knife in her back, Aboulafia said. The sister fled to a neighbor’s home, where she called the police.

Kurumoglu stabbed his mother twice in the neck and once in the back, Aboulafia said. Investigators also recovered a bloodstained shirt from the defendant’s bedroom.

But Mayer said there has been no evidence presented yet in the case.

"A felony complaint is just that, it’s words on paper," Mayer told reporters after the arraignment. "Words on paper are not convictions. So I want everybody in Suffolk County and on Long Island to know that. I want everybody in Suffolk County and Long Island to know that he enjoys the presumption of innocence."