Lawyer: 'Emotional disturbance' led Ian Kazer to fatally stab mother

A son stabbing his mother 47 times "is the definition of a loss of control" by an autistic adult who "snapped," a lawyer for Ian Kazer told a judge Wednesday while arguing the Syosset man is not guilty of murder but of manslaughter.

"This is the picture of an extreme emotional disturbance, Judge," Garden City attorney Brian Griffin said in closing arguments at Kazer's trial before State Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti.

But prosecutor Nicole Aloise countered in Nassau County Court that Kazer was "in complete control" when he snuck up on Frances Kazer, 66, on March 20, 2019, and repeatedly plunged a steak knife into her body.

"This case is not about autism. ... This case is about 47 intentional acts," she added, arguing that Kazer's medical diagnosis didn't play a role in his actions.

Kazer is standing trial on charges including murder and attempted murder after prosecutors said he fatally stabbed his mother and then attacked his father, Howard Kazer, now 71, as the man returned home from picking up a pizza.

Prosecutors have said the violence erupted in the Syosset Circle home hours after the trio had an intense argument after Kazer lost his job as a Target cashier earlier that day and police arrested him for stealing nearly $3,000 in gift cards from the Westbury store.

Defense expert Joe Scroppo, a forensic psychologist and attorney, previously testified that the defendant was "very seriously impaired" by autism and ADHD and lost control because he believed his parents were going to kick him out of the family's home after the argument about his job loss and stealing. What Kazer believed to be true at the time triggered emotional difficulties that led to the violence, Scroppo also said.

But prosecution expert Jeremy Colley, a forensic psychiatrist, previously testified that when Kazer killed his mother and tried to kill his father, he didn't manifest a profound loss of control — one of the legal prongs Kazer's attorneys must show to be true to prove a defense of extreme emotional disturbance.

If such a defense was successful, Delligatti would find Kazer not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of manslaughter. Kazer's attorneys also used the same defense in connection with Kazer's attack on his father, asking the judge Wednesday to find the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter instead of attempting to murder Howard Kazer.

But Aloise told Delligatti that the defendant "wanted to be free of his parents' control" and was resentful because he knew after losing his job that he would have to rely on them more than ever after losing his income source.

"He had all the motivation he needed to finally make his fantasy of killing his parents a reality," the prosecutor said.

Delligatti is expected to announce his verdict in the nonjury trial on Thursday.