The 70-year-old man who police say stabbed his midtown Manhattan roommate to death claims he was acting in self-defense and was released without bail following a Thursday arraignment.
Michael Pinder was charged with attempted manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in the Tuesday slaying of Joseph Pescitelli.
Cops were called to the residence for senior citizens on W. 57th St. near 10th Ave. around 10:50 p.m. where they found Pescitelli, 71, in the apartment bathtub covered in blood with stab wounds to his back and arm, officials said.
Medics rushed him to Mount Sinai Morningside, but he could not be saved. Pinder was taken to the same hospital to be treated for slash wounds to his hands and chest, according to authorities.
At his Thursday arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, it was revealedthat Pinder told police after his arrest that Pescitelli was the initial aggressor and he stabbed him to save his own life.
Pinder has five prior arrests in the city but has not come into contact with the police since 2000, officials said.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office requested Pinder be placed under supervised release pending his next court appearance, on Jan. 22.
