Update: Though police brought Clarence Newcomb to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation Friday, postponing his arraignment, police on Saturday said Newcomb was released and will be arraigned this morning.
Original Story: Suffolk County police arrested Clarence Newcomb, a 25-year-old Kings Park man, for allegedly killing his grandmother after a verbal argument on Friday.
Kathleen Newcomb, 82, was found dead in her Berg Avenue home at 4:35 a.m. Friday.
Police said they responded to a 911 call made by a man who said a woman was lying on the floor. When police arrived, Clarence Newcomb confessed that he had assaulted his grandmother, police said.
"By the time the police got there, it was obvious she was DOA," Det. Sgt. John Best told Newsday. "They were arguing over the television and what they were going to watch on TV."
Newcomb was a longtime Kings Park resident and had a decades-long career at Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital, beginning when she was just fourteen years old. She rose through the nursing ranks, ultimately becoming the Director of Nursing.
She met her husband, Charles, who was one of her students, during her senior year. Charles passed away in 1984. She is survived by her four children, Barbara, Charles Jr., Kathie Ann and Mark.
Police have charged Newcomb with first degree manslaughter. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Saturday at the first district court in Islip.
"She was a beautiful woman,” said Denise Creighton, who wrote about Katie and her connection with the Kings Park community in a story for Patch. “She was a very nice lady. It is such a tragedy.”
Kings Park Patch is saddened by the loss of Katie Newcomb and wishes to extend condolences to the Newcomb family and friends of Katie.
