STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There were two accounts surrounding the stabbing death of Justin Gaston. One hinted at suicide and the other claimed murder. Both were delivered by the same suspect during a rambling, hour-long interview with detectives in the hours following the 2022 fatality.
That suspect, 29-year-old Raiquan Beachem, has since been indicted on murder charges and is currently standing trial in state Supreme Court, St. George.
On Wednesday, the jury viewed footage of the interrogation in which Beachem spoke about a rocky relationship with the victim, who was his roommate at the time; a masquerade party where they met once before; a diagnosis of HIV and claims of suicidal thoughts.
The defendant has elected to represent himself in the case, claiming that detectives coerced him into a confession.
At a previous hearing, Beachem accused police of taking his phone before holding him for several hours before questioning him as a suspect.
Prosecutors say the defendant left his phone at the duplex where investigators discovered it and logged it as possible evidence.
THE SCENE
Authorities were first alerted of the suspicious death on the morning of Jan. 18, 2022, inside a two-story apartment at 493 Jersey St. in New Brighton.
Photos of the crime scene submitted by prosecutors Wednesday showed Gaston’s lifeless body, naked from the waste down in a seated position in the shower stall of a cramped, first-floor bathroom. He was wearing a blue Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie with the hood pulled up. A knife was in his left hand. A pair of sneakers were found next to the toilet and a pair of plaid pants on the floor. He had a stab wound to his chest.
On the witness stand, NYPD Detective Omar Delcid noted that in surveying the location, there was no food in the kitchen cupboards nor utensils in the drawers.
On the first floor, a bedroom occupied by Beachem was filled with clutter, including with several bags stacked up near the doorway. His room shared a wall with the bathroom.
The…
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