Pennsylvania man beheaded girlfriend with machete over perceived 'threat to his masculinity': police

On Friday, The Daily Beast reported on a brutal crime in the Philadelphia area, in which a man allegedly beheaded and dismembered his girlfriend with a machete.

"Nicholas Peter Scurria, 32, was arrested early this morning and charged with two counts of murder, abuse of a corpse, and possession of an 'instrument of crime,' according to court records," reported Justin Rohrlich. "Police responded to the Willow Apartments in Clifton Heights following a report of domestic violence from a neighbor, who called 911 at 4:41 a.m., saying they woke up to loud screams coming from the neighboring apartment. The neighbor, who is not identified by name or gender in a Clifton Heights Police Department incident report, said it suddenly became quiet and that they then 'heard sawing-like sounds and the gathering or shifting of plastic materials.'"

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According to the report, Scurria believed that by chopping the body into pieces he could get rid of the evidence. Police walked in on him chopping his victim's leg off.

As he was led away, he said, "she tried to cut my balls off."

He later confessed to investigators that he and his partner had gotten into an argument and he had beaten her unconscious before cutting her up.

“This morning’s horrific murder is a sad reminder of the threat that many women face on a daily basis,” said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. “Based on the defendant’s statements at the time of his arrest, in response to what the defendant perceived as a threat to his masculinity, he brutally killed — and then dismembered — his victim. His actions were cowardly as well as evil, and he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”