Queens landlord ‘stabbed two tenants and girlfriend to death for refusing to pay rent since COVID’ – as neighbor says suspect once looked at him like he was ‘ready to kill’

A New York landlord reportedly killed two of his tenants – as well as his girlfriend – in a dispute over back rent.

David Daniel, 54, is now facing murder charges – after handing himself over to police shortly after the murders.

The triple stabbing took place sometime before 7 a.m. in the St. Albans section of Queens, killing two women, ages 51 and 55, and a 57-year-old man.

Two of the victims, the man and the 55-year-old woman, were tenants of the single-family home where the murders occurred – which is owned by Daniel and rented out in recent years.

Police found the tenants in a bedroom in the basement, and the suspect’s girlfriend in a bed upstairs. Daniel later turned himself in to confess, and law enforcement sources said he may have been motivated by a rental dispute dating back to the pandemic.

The triple stabbing took place sometime before 7 a.m. in the St. Albans section of Queens, killing two women, ages 51 and 55, and a 57-year-old man.

Two of the victims, the man and reportedly the 55-year-old, were tenants of the single-family home where the murders occurred – which is owned by Daniel and has been rented out for years.

The triple murder occurred just before 7 a.m., and a few minutes later David turned to the 113th Precinct to admit to the murders. There, he told officers he was “having problems with his tenants,” NYPD Assistant Chief Kevin Williams told reporters on Tuesday.

“The officer inquired further and the male stated that ‘he did something bad,’” Williams said of the suspect — who reportedly lived in the upstairs apartment, possibly with his girlfriend.

The top cop made the statement right outside the three-bedroom home, which was flooded with officers on Tuesday morning.

The top cop added: ‘He came in as calm as we thought he could be when he engaged the officers.’

Footage from Tuesday morning showed the ministry’s grim response, with dozens of police officers gathering at the house less than an hour after learning of the killings.

They stayed there all morning, while officers at the police station a mile away relentlessly interrogated the suspect.

There, he gave police the address of his home and told them that “he left the back door open,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said later Tuesday, recounting how the landlord “said he had three people had killed’ before providing the information.

Police went to the three-bedroom single-family home around 7:16 a.m., where they found the bodies and pronounced all dead.

During Daniel’s alleged confession, he told police “that he (had) problems with his girlfriend and that the two (people) in the basement had not paid their rent,” Det. Kenny said Tuesday.

During Daniel’s alleged confession, he told police “that he (had) problems with his girlfriend and that the two (people) in the basement had not paid their rent.” He is currently being held on charges of first-degree murder

The triple murder occurred just before 7 a.m., and a few minutes later David turned to the 113th Precinct to admit to the murders. There he told the officers that he was ‘having problems with his tenants’

“The officer inquired further and the man stated that ‘he did something bad,'” officers said of the suspect — who is also believed to have lived in the home and once looked at a neighbor as if he was “ready to kill.”

Police then rushed home to Milburn Street near 122nd Avenue after he told them the address, and found the three victims stabbed to death.

Police found the tenants in a bedroom in the basement, and the suspect’s girlfriend in a bed upstairs

Images from Tuesday morning showed the ministry’s grim response, with dozens of police officers gathering at the house less than an hour after learning of the killings

Several law enforcement sources have since confirmed the suspect’s story — revealing Wednesday that the two tenants had not paid rent since the start of the COVID pandemic, although several months’ worth of repayments have since been made.

Failure to make these refunds may have fueled the stabbing, an insider told The Daily News, as several neighbors — and family members — offered insight into the landlord’s personal life, as well as his possible state of mind before the murders.

One person who spoke The New York Times said Daniel – who is currently charged with first-degree murder – periodically mowed his neighbors’ lawns and often stopped to say hello.

“It was a shock,” the woman said, telling the newspaper she had lived across the street from David’s house for 20 years.

Another neighbor told DailyMail.com that David had lived in the home for at least two years and saw him outside blowing leaves last week.