Ex-NYPD Officer Charged with Murder After Nearly Decapitating his Mother with a Machete

Osvaldo Diaz, 46, is charged with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon after the violent attack on his mother last February. “The defendant allegedly attacked his mother with a machete – to the point of near-decapitation,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.

The victim, 78-year-old Maria Diaz, bled to death in the second-floor apartment she shared with her son. According to NBC New York, the daughter of Maria Diaz made the grisly discovery after she tried calling her mother several times. Osvaldo Diaz allegedly fled to New Jersey after the murder but was apprehended a week later. Diaz’s lawyer, Jose Nieves, said his client pled not guilty to all charges and has requested a psychiatric evaluation for Diaz.

The New York Post reports that Osvaldo Diaz was hired by the NYPD in 2005 and fired in 2008. He is currently being held in jail without bail. If convicted on the counts charged in the indictment, Diaz faces 25 years to life in prison.