Feb 14, 2008 3:10 pm US/Eastern
Cops: Man Questioned In N.Y. Murder Not A Suspect
Police Looking For Man Who Attacked Psychologist With Meat Cleaver, Knife
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A man who was questioned by police in connection to the hacking murder of an Upper East Side psychologist has been released, CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City has learned.
New York City detectives were in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning questioning 43-year-old William Kunsman, but released him shortly before 3 p.m.
Kunsman, who appeared tired and teary-eyed after his release, told WCBS-TV's Christine Sloan that he did not kill 56-year-old psychologist Kathryn Faughey, who he befriended at a guitar camp six years ago.
"I was brought into the station for questioning. I don't want to talk about the ongoing investigation. ... Kathryn was just a wonderful lady and a fine, fine person," he said. "We just seemed to connect on a very deep, spiritual level."
Kunsman said he was not questioned as a suspect and did not know of the grisly murder until police told him.
"They said they'd contact me if they needed me for anything, but I think my involvement in this is pretty over," he said.
Faughey, was found dead Tuesday inside an office building shortly after 9 p.m.
WCBS-TV spoke exclusively with Kunsman's wife earlier in the afternoon, who said her husband had been in contact with Faughey recently. Her name is currently being withheld.
"I know they met at the Martin Guitar forum. He has spoken to her on the phone a few times, actually I think a few days ago, but other than just being friends and talking on the phone that's about it," she said.
"He's actually a good man, right now is just a bad time for us. He lost a job recently and we've just been going through a lot of, one thing after the other. It seems like everything that could go wrong is going wrong right now."
Police linked Kunsman to Faughey through recent e-mail conversations and brought him in for questioning by Pennsylvania state troopers around 4:30 a.m. Thursday from his home.
On Wednesday, the NYPD released a sketch of a suspect, described as a 5-foot-9 white male, believed to be in his 40s, with blondish brown hair. He was seen wearing a three-quarter green coat, a baseball cap and sneakers.
Authorities initially believed the suspect to be a patient of the murdered doctor, but police have reason to suspect no such relationship existed. Most of Faughey's patients were women, including several victims of domestic abuse.
Police say that around 8 p.m. Tuesday night, the assailant told the doorman he wanted to see psychiatrist Dr. Kent Shinbach, and received permission to enter the premises. He then proceeded to the waiting room where it is believed he sat and waited for up to an hour.
A few minutes before 9 p.m., according to police, Shinbach heard a commotion. He followed the uproar into Faughey's office where he found the suspect attacking Faughey.
Shinbach then attempted to assist Faughey during the attack, in which he suffered serious cuts to his face. He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill/Cornell, and remains there in serious, but stable condition.
Police believe Faughey was stabbed and/or slashed at least 15 times.
"She's on the floor. She's bleeding, she's cut. He himself is immediately attacked by the individual. He is then stabbed and hacked at," said NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
According to the police report, the assailant used a chair to pin Shinbach to the wall and then stole $90 from his wallet and headed down to the basement by a side stairwell carrying a bag and a suitcase, which police say were filled with up to eight additional knives, rope, duct tape and oddly enough, adult diapers.
Police say the psychologist's first-floor office near the lobby was blood-spattered and torn apart in an attack that one detective called "clearly personal and full of anger."
Residents who live near the crime scene were shocked by the news.
"It's just a little bit frightening. I don't expect things like this to happen on the Upper East Side. It's scary," said one stunned neighbor.
Faughey, a licensed psychologist, practiced cognitive behavioral therapy for 20 years on the Upper East Side, focusing on relationship issues and stress. She was educated in Ireland and Yeshiva University and lived with her husband in an apartment building across the street from her practice.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
