A Long Island jury has convicted a 44-year-old man of brutally torturing and stabbing to death a buddy he’d known since high school after they met at a local bar.
Suffolk County prosecutors accused assailant Jeremy Allen of inviting Christopher Hahn back to his East Quogue home, where he initially beat him for nearly 20 minutes in the early morning of Sept. 28, 2024.
Audio of the attack was recorded by Allen’s surveillance system, which also captured the suspect “dragging the bruised and semi-conscious victim onto the rear deck,” according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
Seriously wounded and unable to stand, Hahn was left on the deck as Allen retrieved a baseball bat, which he then used to repeatedly bludgeon the victim’s head and body.
When Allen realized the victim was still alive, he left the deck again and returned with a plastic bag, placing it over Hahn’s head and securing it with a knot, prosecutors said.
Allen then settled into a lawn chair a few feet from away and watched his friend gasp for air for about eight minutes.
That’s when he fetched a large knife and “slowly stabbed Hahn in the neck 10 times,” officials said, adding that he stood over the victim and watched him die.
Prosecutors said Hahn was tortured for six hours before he took his last breath.
Allen was arrested after asking his handyman to help clean up the bloody mess. The worker was first told he couldn’t leave the house after what he’d seen, but eventually convinced Allen to let him step away, at which time he notified police.
Allen was found guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26, when he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“This defendant betrayed a bond of friendship in the most horrific way imaginable, and today’s verdict holds him accountable,” Tierney said following the conviction.
