Man Arraigned in Therapist's Knife Slaying; Judge Orders Psychiatric Evaluation

NEW YORK – A man accused of butchering of a Manhattan therapist rambled and appeared agitated during his arraignment Sunday and the judge ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

David Tarloff, 39, was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault. He claimed that his court-appointed lawyer, Reginald Sharpe, was "not an attorney."

Acting Supreme Court Justice Ruth Picholz ordered that Tarfoff have a psychiatric evaluation before being brought back to court Feb. 23.

Tarloff was arrested Saturday after investigators matched his palm prints with those at the bloody crime scene where therapist Kathryn Faughey was killed Tuesday evening. Police said he told investigators he planned to rob another psychiatrist he said had institutionalized him 17 years ago, but ended up in Faughey's office.

Tarloff made incriminating statements during a 35-minute interrogation, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. But the commissioner declined to say whether Tarloff had confessed.

Police said it remained unclear why Tarloff would have attacked Faughey, who was slashed 15 times. A psychiatrist who worked nearby, Dr. Kent Shinbach, came to Faughey's aid and was badly injured.

During questioning, Tarloff said he planned to rob Shinbach and leave the country with his mother, who is in a nursing home but until recently had lived with him, police said.

Kelly couldn't confirm whether Tarloff was ever Shinbach's patient or whether he'd met Faughey.

Tarloff had been arrested earlier this month on charges of punching a security guard in the face after being asked to leave St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Queens, Kelly said. It wasn't clear why Tarloff had been at the hospital.

Police said they matched his prints from the Feb. 1 arrest with three found on a suitcase -- filled with adult diapers and women's clothing -- left near the basement door where the killer escaped. Also found was a smaller bag with rope, duct tape and knives not used in the attack, police said.