UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A central New York man charged with the deaths of his 90-year-old grandmother and her 87-year-old landlord said in court that he "chopped" up the women "in the name of the Lord."
According to the Observer-Dispatch , Naythen Aubain was taken into Utica City Court on Tuesday night wearing shackles and a mesh hood over his face; he also was barefoot. After appearing to push against surrounding officers, he was shackled on a gurney-type device.
"She tried to touch me sexually, and I had enough," he muttered at one point.
"I killed her, chopped her up in the name of the Lord," Aubain said unprompted as he faced the judge. "She wanted to do nasty things, and I had enough."
He also said: "I didn't only chop her up, I chopped my landlord up too."
Aubain, 29, was being held without bail on two counts of first-degree murder. Public defender Adam Tyksinski said he expects a psychiatric defense.
Police discovered the body of Katerine Aubain, his grandmother, at a park in Clayville late Monday night. Some of the dismembered remains of the second victim, Jane Wentka, were found in her residence on Sunday; her head and torso were located on a street.
The suspect was taken into custody after he crashed his vehicle into a telephone pole Sunday night. He had been in a medically induced coma before his arraignment.
Police say Naythen and Katerine Aubain had shared a second-floor apartment in Utica, and that Wentka lived downstairs.
Sharon Corabi, who lives two doors down from the victims, remembers them fondly.
"She was always a hard worker," Corabi said of Wentka. "She would be out there in her yard working."
She remembered Aubain as a woman who took care of her grandson. "She was such a nice lady. She did everything for him," she said.
