Man Fatally Stabs Roommate For Spending Too Much Time In Bathroom, Stages His Suicide

KEY POINTS

Justin Gaston, 37, was found dead in the bathtub Tuesday morning
The victim's roommate Raiquan Becheam confessed to stabbing him
Becheam, 27, was charged with murder, criminal possession of weapon

A New York man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his roommate to death in an argument over spending too much time in the bathroom. The suspect confessed that he staged the victim's apparent suicide to cover up the murder, police said Wednesday.

37-year-old Justin Gaston was found dead Tuesday morning at the Staten Island apartment. Deputies from the New York Police department who responded to the report of an unconscious man found Gaston naked in the bathtub with a stab wound to the chest and a knife in his hand, NY Daily News reported.

However, the investigators soon determined that the "suicide" was staged and arrested Gaston's roommate, Raiquan Becheam.

Becheam initially told the officers that he found Gaston unconscious with a stab wound inside the bathtub. However, during the questioning, Becheam told the police that he had an argument with his roommate over the "living arrangements" and eventually stabbed him to death, Silive reported.

The 27-year-old was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

The duo had recently moved into the apartment which was used as a temporary shelter for the homeless."They were particularly arguing over time Gaston spent in the bathroom," a police source said.

"I attacked him," Becheam admitted. "I stabbed him one time in the kitchen by the front door by the refrigerator," Becheam said, according to the criminal complaint. The police believe that Becheam then carried Gaston's body and seated him inside the tub with a knife in the hand to make it look like a suicide.

A court has ordered Becheam to be held without bail.

Born in Houston, Gaston moved to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. "He lived and died in the state he has always loved," Gaston's mother, Kimberly Janet Gaston-Abbey said.

Becheam was previously arrested on Nov. 19 for punching and kicking an acquaintance in Brooklyn. He was then ordered to be released without bail the next day, court records show.