As Bethlehem police try to piece together what led to the fatal stabbing of a man inside his own home Sunday, the victim's family say more could have been done to prevent the tragedy in the first place.
“We're devastated. We were all just laughing and having so much fun the day before. We were all looking forward to so much,” said Elizabeth Weadock, daughter of Michael Edward Weadock.
Weadock says her 58-year-old father had been living at 'The Lodge,' a transitional home for adults with mental challenges for almost two years.
“It's a leg up for the mentally ill to try and get them stabilized, and make sure they're taking their medications, make sure they're going to their doctors' appointments,” said Weadock.
On Sunday, a family member was on his way over to watch television with Weadock when their world was turned upside down.
"By the time my uncle got there, the crime scene tape was up," said Weadock.
Police say at 12:22 p.m., they got a call from Emanuel Cotto who told dispatch he had killed someone inside the apartment at 414 Fillmore Street.
Court records say when police arrived, Cotto told them "My roommate is in there, but he is not alive, I took him out."
Upon investigating, police found Michael Weadock dead on the floor, with multiple stab wounds to his torso, head and face.
"You don't ever prepare yourself for something like that--how could you know? I really didn't want my dad in that house with him," said Elizabeth who claims this wasn't the first time Cotto had pulled a knife on her dad.
“My dad had caught him eating peanut butter out of his peanut butter jar with his hands and my dad asked him if he could please stop and if he needed any to at least use a fork and eat some on bread. He hit my father and he pulled a knife on him,” she said.
Bethlehem Police Chief Mark Diluzio says they're currently looking into the prior incident as part of the investigation and adds Cotto's mental health will be up to the courts to decide.
According to Weadock, the previous altercation occurred less than a month ago and was never fully settled,
“They had taken my dad out of the residence and then placed him back there after a week or two saying that all the issues were resolved,” she said.
A spokesperson with the department of Resources for Human Development, which runs 'The Lodge,' says they're fully cooperating in the investigation but cannot make any comments at this time.
Cotto is being held at Northampton County Prison and faces one count of criminal homicide.
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