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Police: Philly man stabbed grandmother 30 times because she yelled at him

He was released from jail last Tuesday, cleared of charges that he had punched his 14-year-old brother in the face and threatened to kill him, according to court records.

Derrik Dabney, 29, told police over the weekend that he killed his grandmother, Geraldine McCoy, around 5:55 p.m. Friday at their home in the 7900 block of Caesar Place, police said Monday.
Derrik Dabney, 29, told police over the weekend that he killed his grandmother, Geraldine McCoy, around 5:55 p.m. Friday at their home in the 7900 block of Caesar Place, police said Monday.Read more

He was released from jail last Tuesday, cleared of charges that he had punched his 14-year-old brother in the face and threatened to kill him, according to court records.

But by Saturday, Derrik Dabney, 29, had found a different victim: his 70-year-old grandmother, Geraldine McCoy, whom he allegedly killed by stabbing her more than 30 times in her bedroom in Eastwick, police said.

The motive, said Homicide Capt. James Clark, was as trivial as they come: Dabney's grandmother had yelled at him.

"It's vicious and very senseless," Clark said.

Officials said Monday that Dabney was still on probation supervised by the Mental Health Unit at the time of the attack around 5:55 p.m. Saturday in the 7900 block of Caesar Place.

Court records also show that Dabney has a history of violent crimes against family members, including attacking another grandmother with a baseball bat in 2010.

Clark said Dabney gave a statement to police about his actions over the weekend. He was charged with murder and related offenses and was in custody after being denied bail.

Attempts to reach family members Monday were unsuccessful. Police said Dabney's mother - the victim's daughter - returned to McCoy's house just after the killing Saturday and called police because she saw Dabney leaving and suspected something was wrong. When officers walked inside, they found McCoy dead in a second-floor bedroom, police said.

Court records show that Dabney was found not guilty last week of terroristic threats and simple assault after being accused in December of punching and threatening his brother. A count of reckless endangerment was withdrawn.

Kathleen Martin, chief of staff for District Attorney Seth Williams, said Monday that prosecutors put forward a case that included testimony from the teen and a witness. The judge in the case, James M. Lynn, ruled that Dabney was not guilty, according to court records.

In 2012, Dabney was found guilty of aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, and reckless endangerment for assaulting his paternal grandmother with a baseball bat.

He was sentenced to 21/2 to five years in confinement for the aggravated assault charge, and five years' probation for the other counts, records show.

The probation was revoked last March and transferred to Mental Health Unit supervision.

The alteration occurred because Dabney had earned another conviction, for harassment, after he was accused of attempting to punch a Deputy Sheriff at the Criminal Jutice Center in February 2016, court records show. Dabney was found not guilty of simple assault and reckless endangerment, according to the records.

But his probation was also to be extended until March 2021, said Martin O'Rourke, spokesman for the First Judicial District, and Dabney was sentenced to 90 days' confinement for the harassment charge, court records show.

In 2010, Dabney was accused of pointing a loaded rifle at his father at his house in the 4700 block of Sansom Street, according to court records. Dabney was given a "judgment of acquittal" in that case, the records show, although they do not offer an explanation for the ruling.

Dabney was arraigned on his murder charges shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, court records show.

cpalmer@phillynews.com

215-854-2817

@cs_palmer