SOUTH BRONX — A homeless man confessed that he would have fried and eaten his lover's penis after killing him if police hadn't have caught him first.
Jerry Pagan, 32, initially told police he had nothing to do with the murder of 68-year-old Richard Reed, who was found dead in a bathtub at his Claremont home, court records show.
But he quickly changed his story, saying, "I had to do it. I had to kill him. I told you I did it," the records show.
Pagan, who said he was wearing his victim's clothes during an interview with police, told them that he had unprotected sex with Reed a few days before killing him and wanted to get tested after, but Reed would not give him the money to do so.
He then returned to Reed's apartment at 1348 Sheridan Ave. a few days later on Dec. 3 around 8:35 p.m. and brutally killed him, according to court papers and the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
"I stabbed him with a knife and hit him over the head with a hammer and cut off his penis and put it in the sink," Pagan told police, adding that he also started drowning him in the bathtub.
"I wanted to cut his head off and throw him in the river, but you got to me too early," he continued.
He told police he had also planned to cook and eat Reed's genitals.
"I was going to fry the penis up and eat it too," he said.
Pagan said he sold some of Reed's things at an electronics store and maintained that he was tired of Reed disrespecting him. When police came to the apartment, he told them that Reed's penis was still in the sink.
"If you don't believe me, go check for yourself," he said, according to court papers.
Pagan appeared in court on Tuesday in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, and he remained calm throughout the proceedings, declining to speak apart from quietly pleading not guilty to the charges against him.
He has been indicted on charges of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon and is due back in court on March 30. He will continue to be held without bail until then, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
Assistant District Attorney Morgan Dolan is prosecuting the case, and Pagan is being represented by attorney William Dowling, who declined to comment after his client's court appearance.
“The ferocity of the attack on this victim was shocking," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "The defendant now faces charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.”
