Prosecutor: Man accused of killing grandmother, chased mom with knife

A homeless man accused of fatally stabbing his grandmother in Amityville chased his mother with a knife after she walked in on the attack, a prosecutor said at the defendant's arraignment Sunday.

Dwight Clermont, 28, stared blankly from a holding area in the courtroom as Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Eric Aboulafia recalled the events of Saturday morning, when Clermont is alleged to have stabbed 81-year-old Miraccia Leopold to death inside her home on Watkins Terrace. 

Clermont's mother, Carline Etienne, left her bedroom shortly before 7:30 a.m. after hearing Leopold scream and found her son holding a knife in his right hand as he stood over her wounded mother, Aboulafia said. 

Clermont then followed his mother and stabbed through her bedroom door as she sought safety in an interior bathroom, the prosecutor said.

"He attempted to break through that door as well with the knife, but thankfully he was unsuccessful, largely due to the fact that Ms. Etienne used all of her strength to keep that door closed, likely saving her life," said Aboulafia, of the District Attorney's Homicide Bureau. Prosecutors did not reveal how many times Leopold was stabbed or the location of the wounds.

Etienne managed to call 911 and Suffolk County police officers arrived just four minutes later, apprehending Clermont in the living room of the home, the prosecutor said. Leopold was pronounced dead about an hour later at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, police and prosecutors said.

Aboulafia said the police found a kitchen knife "covered in what appeared to be blood" in a kitchen drawer.

Clermont was charged with second-degree murder. He is already awaiting sentencing on a felony burglary conviction in Nassau County for an April incident, in which police said he exposed himself to two women inside a Kate Spade store in Garden City and chased them into a stockroom. A warrant was ordered Thursday after Clermont failed to appear for a sentencing date in that matter, court records show. Aboulafia said Clermont has failed to appear in court on at least four other occasions and he also has prior misdemeanor convictions.

Sunday's arraignment was delayed for several hours after Clermont refused to enter the courtroom and would not stand for Judge Jonathan Bloom once he finally did.

"He acknowledged he can hear me," Bloom said as Clermont briefly looked in his direction after his name was called several times.

Bloom ordered Clermont held at the Suffolk County jail without bail. He was represented Sunday by a first-appearance counsel.

Attorney Ira Weissman of Central Islip was appointed to represent Claremont at his next appearance Friday.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.