19-Year-Old Accused Of Fatally Stabbing His Brother While He Was Playing Video Games

A teenager in Long Island stabbed and killed his brother while he was playing video games, prosecutors said.

Robert Rivera, 19, allegedly killed his brother on Friday night at the family home in Baywood, according to Newsday.

Brian Castillo, 17, was in a room playing video games around 7 p.m. when his brother came up behind him and plunged a knife in his neck at least once, Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Opisso said in court on Saturday.

After the stabbing, Castillo went out in the front yard to talk to his father, and said, "look what Robert did to me," before collapsing on the lawn.

The father tried to take Castillo to the hospital, Opisso said, but attempts to revive the teen were unsuccessful.

He was pronounced dead later when emergency workers arrived.

Rivera fled, but he was found 10 minutes later walking down a nearby road. He was arrested on charges of second-degree murder. He later gave police a full videotaped confession, Opisso said.

Rivera's court-appointed attorney, Steve Fondulis, said his client had a known history of mental issues and needed to be put on medication. He pleaded not guilty on behalf of Rivera, who appeared in a white jumpsuit and asked if his parents were in the courtroom, according to Newsday. Fondulis also asked for a psychiatric evaluation in the jail and that Rivera be put on suicide watch.

“There seems to be a psychiatric background,” Fondulis said in court. “I know nothing about what happened in that house.”

In the courtroom, the teens' mother and other relatives openly cried and wiped away tears.

Although there is no known motive for the crime, according to News 12 in Long Island, Rivera said he was threatened by his brother. Rivera is due back in court on Aug. 30.

[Photo: Suffolk County Police Department]