Victor Panebianco arraigned on murder indictment in fatal stabbing of Christopher Millwater at Stony Brook Yacht Club

A North Carolina man pleaded not guilty to a murder indictment in the stabbing of a Selden man last month at the Stony Brook Yacht Club.

Victor Panebianco, 32, appeared in a Riverhead courtroom Tuesday, after he was extradited last week to face charges in the Nov. 10 killing of Christopher Millwater.

Millwater, 52, was the ex-boyfriend of Panebianco's girlfriend, Kacy Corso, 33, of Setauket, who was also charged in the murder indictment. She pleaded not guilty last week and was ordered held without bond.

Prosecutors said Panebianco helped carry out the killing after Corso broke up with Millwater and she told Millwater to stop contacting her.

Video surveillance footage showed Millwater pulling up next to Corso in the parking lot of the yacht club, shortly after 3 a.m., prosecutors said. 

Prosecutors said Corso blocked Millwater's car with her vehicle, when Panebianco got out and began walking toward Millwater. Corso allegedly rammed her car against Millwater's vehicle and Panebianco ran after him with a knife.

"Millwater asked Panebianco, 'You’re stabbing me?' and screamed for help and the police," Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Panebianco is charged with chasing Millwater through the parking lot, straddling him and stabbing him several times while Corso encouraged him not to show mercy, prosecutors said.

"The defendant chases him, unprovoked with a knife," Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty said in court Tuesday. "As the victim is seen lying unconscious on the ground, the defendant is seen kicking him with full force in the head."

Millwater was found by police after a fisherman called 911 at about 3:45 a.m. He was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where he died from two stab wounds to the chest, according to the district attorney's office. 

The couple then fled to North Carolina, where Panebianco was arrested Nov. 19. Stokes County sheriff's deputies searched Panebianco's home in King, North Carolina, where they recovered clothing and a knife, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the couple had arrived on Long Island 90 minutes before the attack and went straight to the yacht club. They then immediately fled New York.

Police were able to track Panebianco across four states, from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, using license plate readers and tracking his cellphone, Shetty said.

Panebianco's attorney, John Manley, declined to comment after the hearing.

Corso's attorney said during her arraignment last week that Corso did not stab Millwater. She was arrested by Suffolk County police when she returned to court to settle a landlord dispute, her attorney said. He also entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.

Prosecutors executed a search warrant on Corso's car where they found two additional knives, Shetty said. One of the knives recovered during the investigation matched the description of the weapon used in the killing, she said.

Both Panebianco and Corso were ordered remanded without bail. They both face 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

They are scheduled to return to court Jan. 13 and 14 for the next hearings in the case.

A large group of Millwater's family sat in court during the arraignment as they learned details of the investigation.

Millwater's brother, Donald Millwater, 56, of Selden, said they did not know Panebianco and said he thought his brother was trying to help Corso.

He said the couple had previously come looking to confront his brother at his mother's house. Millwater said they knew where to find him, because the yacht club was his favorite fishing spot.

"We're just looking for justice to be served. We're going to continue to come here because we don't want them to forget, because we're not going to forget," Donald Millwater said. "I don't know how things got to this point. This was done with intent. They came from out of state. They came to search him out ... they didn't come to talk to him."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.