Ex-NYPD officer charged in machete murder of mom: Queens DA

NYPD
Osvaldo Diaz. Photo credit NYPD

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- An ex-NYPD officer accused of killing his mother with a machete last year was arraigned in Queens after being extradited from New Jersey this week, officials said Thursday.

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Osvaldo Diaz, 46, was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon following a grand jury indictment Wednesday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

Diaz is accused of stabbing and slashing his 78-year-old mother, Maria Diaz, to death on Feb. 24, 2021, at the apartment they shared in Queens Village.

Katz said Diaz’s sister found their mom’s body “bleeding and wrapped in bedding” when she went to the home for a visit.

The mom and daughter had “planned to run some errands and take a walk” that day, but Maria Diaz was unreachable when her daughter tried to call her numerous times, Katz said.

The sister eventually got the building’s property owner to let her into the apartment, where she found her mom dead.

Surveillance video allegedly captured Diaz leaving the apartment. He was on the run for just over a week before he was apprehended in New Jersey, Katz said.

Diaz was extradited to Queens on Wednesday to face the charges. If convicted, he could serve 25 years to life in prison.

Diaz’s family told the Daily News that “his mental health started to deteriorate” after he was fired from the NYPD in 2008, three years after he joined the department as an officer.

Featured Image Photo Credit: NYPD