Coney Island Man Arrested For Mom’s Mercy Killing

An elderly Brooklyn woman is dead and her son behind bars after a disturbing ordeal some are calling a mercy killing.

Coney Island resident Frida Tsirinsksy, 86, was strangled by her son on Friday.

Yefim Tsirinsky, who is unemployed and lived with his mother, called authorities after placing a pillow over her face in their home at 2819 West 12th Street. He told an officer, “I just smothered my mother; I just suffocated my mother.” According to police, there is no record of any prior incidents and there did not appear to be a struggle.

The elder Tsirinsky survived for 24 hours after the incident, dying on Saturday in Coney Island Hospital.

Yefim has been charged with second-degree murder and first- and second-degree strangulation today, but neighbors are shocked by that actions of a man they describe as a dutiful son by neighbors.

“He looked like he was so dedicated,” neighbor Donald Solomon told the NY Times. “He just went off.”

Yefim claims his mother indicated that she did not want to live anymore. Euthanasia, however, is illegal in all of the United States.