Man Poured Coffee on Wife’s Head, Strangled to Death by Son | Hans Knickerbocker

On February 25, 2026 at 7:49pm, New York State Troopers were called to a home in Russell, New York after a 911 call reported a deceased man inside the house. When police arrived, they found 63 year old Philip A. Knickerbocker dead on a couch. Welcome LaMs. Welcome to a surprise midweek mini episode. Now this episode is a real mini, but it’s a case I just wanted to bring to you because it’s a case. One of those cases that shows you why domestic abuse should never happen. Before we begin, did you catch Monday’s episode where this man killed his friend in front of his children all because he was jealous? And if you didn’t hear that, go back and listen to Monday’s episode after you’re finished with this one. And also, don’t forget to subscribe to Love and Murder on whatever platform you’re on. You can also head on over to our patreon patreon.com uh, loveandmurder and subscribe over there for free. You do get some benefits of being a free lamb, however. If you want bonus episodes, case extras, the after show to be a voice of the victim and to help keep Love and Murder listener funded, then think about choosing one of our bonus tiers starting only at $3 a month and above. Patreon.com loveandmurder now let’s get into this mini mini M mini Wednesday episode. Philip lived there with his wife Jacqueline and their 40 year old son Hans Knickerbocker. Now before y’ all get on this 40 year old man for living with his parents, think about the economy. That’s all I’m going to say. Just think about the economy. You don’t know why he’s living with his parents. However, in the end we’re going to ask should he have been living there or was it for the best? It’s interesting to note, though, that it’s not clear whether Jacqueline was Hans’s biological mother or stepmother. No sources said so. The family lived in a rural area near the Canadian border, the kind of place where neighbors mostly mind their business and crime like this, what I’m about to tell you doesn’t happen often. Longtime neighbor Don Powers described it, saying, it’s not like Ogdenburg or Watertown or Syracuse. It’s a small town and we’re not used to that. He said the family kept mostly to themselves, but seemed normal enough. They were decent folks. I haven’t seen them since a few years ago. I see them out and I just wave to them but inside the home, things were much more tense. According to court records, Philip and Jacqueline were in the living room that night arguing about their marriage. At the time, Hans was in his bedroom. But then at some point, the verbal argument turned physical, and Philip poured hot coffee over Jacqueline’s head. Who does that? Then he tried to punch her. What the frick? Now, hearing the struggle, Hans emerged from his room and confronted his father. State police said, quote, during the incident, Hans allegedly struck his father in the head and strangled him. He beat Philip with his fist, hitting him in the head, and then started choking him with both hands. Hans then used his full body weight and pressed his elbow into Philip’s neck, continuing to apply pressure and restricting his ability to breathe until Philip stopped breathing altogether. Now, one case of domestic abuse does not call for another case of domestic abuse. He started choking Jacqueline. So then Hans came out and did all this and started choking him. Like two wrongs don’t make a right. You could have disarmed him and then called 91 1. By the time troopers arrived after the 911 call, Philip was already dead, and first responders pronounced him dead right there at the scene. That same night, Hans was detained and taken to the state police barracks in Canton for questioning. At first, police treated it as a suspicious death while they waited for the autopsy. He was initially charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation. During that first arraignment in the town of Herman Court, bail was set at $5,000 cash, a $10,000 bond, or a, uh, $20,000 secured bond. On February 27, 2026, at 9:00am Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sikirica performed an autopsy at Glenn Falls Hospital. He found that Philip’s cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation, and the manner of death was officially ruled a homicide. With that ruling, prosecutors upgraded the charges, and Hans was now facing second degree murder. The felony complaint stated that he, quote, did intentionally cause death to his father by choking the victim, restricting his ability to breathe until he was, uh, ultimately deceased. Prosecutors were no longer treating this as a fight that got out of hand. They were now building a case for intentional murder. Hans was brought back to court for a second arraignment, this time in the town of Canton court. After the upgraded charge, the judge remanded him to the St. Lawrence County Jail without bail, where he. He currently remains in custody. Officials also noted that his next court date was not yet publicly available. At the time of this reporting, it was unclear whether Hans had retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf and what remains to be seen is how the defense will respond, whether they argue self defense, defense of Jacqueline, heat of the moment, or just something else entirely. I mean, it is the defense. So this is the reason why I wanted to bring this case, even though it’s so short. It just shows how quickly arguments can turn deadly. Now let me know, do you think it was good that Hans was there? Do you think he was just coming out to protect Jacqueline? Or do you think it initially started that way? But his anger over his father over something, I don’t know what just overtook him. Now, this case is still ongoing, so everything said here is alleged. But I want to know your thoughts on this case and your opinions. Let me know them in the comments below. And if you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1800-799723-31800-799-uh-7233 or go to the hotline.org all calls are toll free and confidential and the 247 in more than 170 languages. And you can get this information and more resources on my website, murderinlove.com that’s loveandmurderbackwards murderandlove.com and that is all I have for you in today’s very, very short midweek Mini. Don’t forget to go ahead and subscribe on the Patreon. You can do that for free patreon.com uh loveandmurder but to help out this podcast, check out one of our bonus tiers. Just read the descriptions and choose whichever tier that you’d like. Join patreon.com uh, uh, loveandmurder. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support and I will see you in the next episode. Bye.

Past Cases Mentioned in this Episode:

9-Year-Old Hid with Baby Sister After Watching Parents Be Murdered | Andrew Hockensmith
9-Year-Old Hid with Baby Sister After Watching Parents Be Murdered | Andrew Hockensmith

Sources: (what the sources say)

https://people.com/man-poured-coffee-wife-head-then-was-allegedly-strangled-death-by-son-11919448

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/man-who-poured-coffee-on-his-wifes-head-after-an-argument-was-strangled-to-death-by-his-son-who-got-upset-about-the-fight-police/

https://www.wwnytv.com/2026/02/27/autopsy-confirms-russell-man-was-strangled-son-charged-connection-with-death/

https://www.northcountrynow.com/stories/domestic-dispute-between-father-and-son-turns-fatal-son-charged-by-state-police,357094

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/new-york-man-strangled-dad-coffee-b2933563.html

https://www.13abc.com/2026/03/05/son-chokes-father-death-response-father-attacking-mother-with-hot-coffee-authorities-say/