'I'm in deep pain': Mother of Brooklyn jogger murder suspect speaks out
NEW YORK -- The mother of the man charged in the fatal stabbing of Brooklyn jogger Katie Suarez is speaking publicly for the first time since his arrest, describing her son as a good person while expressing sympathy for the victim's family.
Fatma Mohassib spoke at the family's Bensonhurst home, where police arrested her son, Sayed Mohassib, on Saturday morning.
"I'm in deep pain, I'm in deep trouble. I hope everything will go ok," said Fatma.
Despite the charges against her son, Fatma Mohassib insisted he had a positive background.
"He's a black belt, he goes to Boy Scouts all his life, goes to the mosque all his life, he goes to Brooklyn College, the team basketball, excellent boy," she said.
Authorities allege security camera footage places Mohassib near the scene of the attack before and after Katie Suarez was stabbed while jogging near Shore Parkway and Bay 17th Street on Oct. 30.
According to court documents, Mohassib told detectives he went to the bike path that day carrying a knife because he believed "people were going to come and kill his family."
Court records state that once near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Mohassib told investigators he "sat down on a bench" and "became covered in blood."
Authorities said Mohassib also told detectives that after returning home, he "got rid of the bloody clothing" and "the knife," adding that he "got blood in his apartment which he attempted to clean."
Court papers further indicate that Mohassib told investigators he discarded items through a garbage chute while wearing only underwear. The chute is located across from the family apartment where, according to police, his mother and sister called 911 in 2024 after he allegedly threatened to chop them up.
Fatma Mohassib denied those allegations.
"He never attacked me, never attacked his sister, never attacked anyone in the neighborhood," she adds.
She acknowledged concerns about her son's mental health, saying he had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, with his longest stay lasting two months.
According to the report, Mohassib left the NYPD after only a few weeks and later joined the Marines. His mother said the rules were too difficult for him. When he later attempted to return to the police department, he was denied and taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Suarez was jogging when she called her father to say she was on her way back. When she failed to arrive, her father went looking for her and found her critically injured.
Fatma Mohassib said she shares in the grief of Suarez's family.
"My heart goes deep to the mother and the father. Just, we both lost, you lost your daughter, I lost my son," said Fatma.
The case remains pending as prosecutors pursue murder charges against Sayed Mohassib.
