Authorities have accused Dwight Clermont of stabbing his elderly grandmother to death inside of her Amityville home on Saturday morning.
Clermont now faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal stabbing of 81-year-old Miraccia Leopold. He was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.
It took hours for the defendant to agree to be formally arraigned. Prosecutors say that Clemont's mother saw her son holding the bloody knife over his grandmother's body, before Clemont allegedly turned the knife on her.
Authorities say she was able to lock herself in the bathroom before law enforcement arrived.
Law enforcement officials say that they believe Clermont is homeless and was staying with his grandmother at the time of the stabbing incident.