By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo News Editor
UPPER WEST SIDE — The man who allegedly stabbed his 70-year-old father to death before trying to take his own life was under psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital Tuesday evening, police said.
Julian Kurita, 33, allegedly stabbed his father, Fumitaka Kurita, known as Frank, in the neck Monday night in the family's apartment at West 87th Street and then slashed his own wrist, police said. He faces murder and weapons charges.
Police did not release any details about the events that lead to Frank Kurita's death, other than to say his son appeared to be mentally disturbed, and neighbors were at a loss to describe what could have sparked a confrontation between father and son.
Joan Morrow, a retired preschool teacher who lives one floor below the Kurita family, said Julian Kurita left college after a bout with mental illness. She said she believed he had struggled with schizophrenia since his early 20s.
Morrow said Julian's mother, Valerie Kurita, was a devout Buddhist who worked hard to help her son overcome his mental illness. Valerie Kurita spoke openly about her son's illness at a Buddhist chanting group she hosted in the family's apartment, Morrow said.
When Julian Kurita was first diagnosed with mental illness, his mother sought out natural remedies that might help him, Morrow said.
"She was very serious about helping her son," Morrow said. "She was so proud. It seemed that he had overcome it."
Messages left for Kurita's family were not immediately returned.
Morrow described Julian Kurita as a "very friendly" person who would go through quiet phases. For a while, he took medication that made him shake, remembers Morrow.
Recently Julian Kurita seemed to be on a stable path, Morrow said.
"He was very very nice, a nice person," Morrow said. "You never would dream anything like this would have happened."
Morrow said she rarely saw father and son together because Frank Kurita spent most of his time in Japan.
"He was always smiling," Morrow said of Frank Kurita. "He was a very very happy person, at least outwardly."
Frank Kurita was stabbed at 7:16 p.m., police said, and his body was discovered in the dining room, 1010 WINS reported. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Julian Kurita was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in stable condition with a stab wound to his wrist, then later transferred to Bellevue Hospital, police said.
