Court records: Brentwood man confessed to cops he fatally stabbed his mom

A 19-year-old Brentwood man plunged a knife into his mother’s head and neck Sunday morning, killing her, and later confessed to Suffolk police investigators, according to a felony complaint charging him with second-degree murder.

Akcel Arriaza is accused of fatally stabbing his mother, Dora Villatoro-Arriaza, 46, while the two sat in the family’s parked SUV in front of their Adams Avenue home.

“He did stab his mother, Dora Villatoro Arriaza, with a knife numerous times striking her in the head and neck,” the complaint said. “This arrest is based in part on the defendant’s oral statement to your deponent in which he stated in sum and substance: 'I took a knife and stabbed my mother many times until she was dead.’ ”

Police said Arriaza attacked his mother at about 6 a.m. Sunday shortly after asking her to talk with him in the SUV. Villatoro-Arriaza was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Arriaza was arraigned Monday in First District Court in Central Islip. A judge remanded him without bail, according to court records.

His attorney, Ira Weissman, said finding a motive behind the alleged attack will take some digging. As of Monday night, Weissman said, he had not had a chance to privately speak with Arriaza.

“I need to learn a lot more about their relationship, the relationship between my client and his mother,” Weissman said. "I need to learn more about his history. I know there is some explanation on why we are at this point today.”

Weissman said Arriaza had a lot of family support at his arraignment.

“I’m going to try and discover why that is. … Almost all of the family was there to support him. A lot of it will come down to family history.”

Police said Villatoro-Arriaza’s daughter called police following the alleged attack. She was home, along with Villatoro-Arriaza’s husband and two other children, police said.

Suffolk Homicide Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer has said the motive remained under investigation. There was no criminal history among residents inside the home and “very limited domestic history. All verbal disputes,” Beyrer said.

Arriaza was treated at a hospital following his arrest for injuries he sustained while stabbing his mother, police said.