A New York landlord allegedly bludgeoned his tenant to death with a baseball bat following a rent dispute involving allegations of a lack of hot water.
Omar Lamoni, 43, has been charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child, while his brother, Edwin Nina, 39, faces charges of second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said, according to WPIX-TV.
Those charges may be upgraded pending autopsy results, authorities said.
Lamoni and Nina were allegedly involved in the fatal beating of their tenant, 30-year-old Kristopher Samaroo, who also happened to be their half-brother, the victim's fiancée told CBS News.
An argument over rent and a shortage of running hot water Saturday night allegedly sparked the deadly assault outside the home in Bronx, New York.
"[The landlord's brother] goes straight to the trunk of his car, grabs a steel bat, runs up my steps to the front of my house, and starts wailing on my husband," Brittney Shears told News 12 Sunday. "From there, my husband jumps on him."
At that point, Shears alleged Lamoni joined in on the attack.
"They keep saying that we're not paying rent at the moment, but that's further from the truth," Shears told News 12. "[The landlord] accepts partial payment for rent because they keep cutting off my hot water."
Samaroo leaves behind two little girls.
"It was really senseless," Shears told the station. "My girls don't deserve not to have a father."
A GoFundMe launched to help offset funeral costs described Samaroo as a devoted family man.
"His main priority was to protect and honor his wife and daughters, Kaliyah and Kamilah," the description read. "He made an honest effort to provide and protect his family. He wanted nothing more than to be a father and raise his girls, surrounded by true unconditional love."
