Slashed teen's dad has abuse rap sheet

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BY KERRY BURKE, MIKE JACCARINO AND ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Tuesday, November 11th 2008, 4:00 AM A Queens dad who found his 14-year-old daughter slaughtered in their home was arrested a year ago for punching another daughter, police sources said.

Livingston Matthews, 51, was nabbed on an assault charge in October 2007 after his then-21-year-old daughter, LaToya, told police he had punched her in the face, sources said.

The case was later dismissed and sealed, sources said. The same daughter also called the police in September 2007, claiming Matthews was threatening to "lay her out" during a screaming match at the family's Cambria Heights home, sources said. Neighbors said police came to the house a few times in recent years to deal with "domestic disturbances" involving LaToya.

Matthews told cops he found his younger daughter, Sabrina, murdered in her bed about 1:15 p.m. Sunday when he returned from work.

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The high school freshman's throat had been slit and she was naked from the waist down. There were no signs of forced entry, and no one has been charged.

Next-door neighbor Rosemary Kufour, 46, said Matthews' wife, Shrida, told her she last spoke to Sabrina about 9 p.m. Saturday but heard her talking to her father around midnight. When the nursing home health aide awoke for work at 5 a.m. Sunday, Kufour quoted the mother as saying, "I saw black stuff all over the floor leading down to the basement. I didn't think anything of it. I figured my husband stepped in mud outside."

Kufour said it turned out the "black stuff" was Sabrina's blood. Kufour said the mom was beside herself because she said she left Sabrina a note saying "Daddy stepped on mud. Please clean the floor for me."

Asked about earlier trouble at the Matthews home, Kufour recalled an instance in which Livingston Matthews allegedly threatened to hurt LaToya because she dropped out of college to take a job.

Janeita Matthews, 28, one of the victim's three sisters, said the family "was trying to be strong. We're staying together and we're trying to cope with what happened."

Asked what she thought happened, she closed the door.

Detectives removed more than a dozen bags of evidence from the home, including the teen's cell phone and computer. Investigators also towed Matthews' green Honda for tests. He is a driver for the city's Administration for Children's Services.

agendar@nydailynews.com

Slashed teen's dad has abuse rap sheet

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