Ousted NYPD Detective Stabbed To Death By 'Troubled' Neighbor Following Argument

A man was arrested for allegedly stabbing and killing a former New York Police Department (NYPD) detective, following a dispute in a Staten Island neighborhood.

The incident took place just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, when 37-year-old Nicholas Nelson, who was with his young children along Elizabeth Street in West Brighton, got into a verbal dispute with the suspect.

Nelson took his children into a home to their mother, while Wilson remained outside yelling at the ex-cop to come outside. Nelson went back outside and continued to argue with the man, who then stabbed him in the neck, the New York Post reported.

He was later pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center.

Eric Wilson, 26, who lived on the same block, was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.

According to the police, the stabbing resulted from a nonsensical neighborhood argument. They believed the dispute started after the suspect kicked Nelson's car door when he was getting out with his children.

It was unclear if the two men knew each other, but they reportedly had no history of prior arguments.

"It's tragic because he [Nelson] had children and now they have to grow up without a father," a neighbor said, adding the victim was a kindhearted family man, who was always focused on his children.

Nelson's girlfriend and the mother of his two youngest children also termed him as the best father, according to ABC7NY.

After joining the NYPD in 2008, Nelson was promoted to the rank of detective. However, a series of disturbing incidents resulted in his dismissal from the force in 2021. In 2012, he had gotten into a fight with a woman with whom he shared a child, the New York Post added. In another incident that took place on March 16, 2019, Nelson allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, and was then suspended and demoted from his rank. He was eventually fired in May 2021 for his involvement in an off-duty drunk-driving accident in August 2018.

On the other hand, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Wilson was "described by neighbors as a troubled individual who's always causing trouble on the block."

Wilson reportedly has seven prior arrests, including an alleged assault of a 53-year-old man on Clove Road that occurred on Jan. 2. He was previously arrested on Oct. 19, for allegedly robbing a man and leaving him unconscious.