Police are investigating a domestic dispute that left a Central Islip man dead Wednesday.

According to police, the fight began when 60-year-old Charles Hays Sr. asked his 31-year-old son, Charles Jr., to move out of the family's Hemlock Street home. Investigators say Charles Jr. then went downstairs and retrieved a hammer, which he used to beat his father to death before fleeing the scene.

Charles Jr. was later taken into custody by police in Brentwood. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder Thursday.