Nassau DA: Bethpage Man Convicted of Murdering His Wife in 2016
Mineola, NY - May 9, 2018 - Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Bethpage man who killed his wife, attacked his daughter with a knife and led cops on a high-speed car chase that culminated in a fiery crash at a gas station and assault on a police officer in November 2016, was convicted of murder and other charges.
Robert Crumb, 45, was convicted today by a jury of:
- Murder in the 2nd Degree (an A-I felony)
- Assault in the 1st Degree (a B violent felony)
- Assault in the 2nd Degree (a D violent felony)
- Reckless Endangerment in the 1st Degree (a D felony)
- Resisting Arrest (an A misdemeanor)
The trial started on April 16 and the jury deliberated for approximately four hours. The defendant was remanded and is due back for sentencing before Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy June 14. He faces a sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison.
“This defendant brutally murdered the mother of his children, assaulted his daughter, and endangered the lives of police and the public in a reckless high-speed chase,” said DA Singas. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family and while no conviction can erase their pain, I hope this verdict gives them some comfort.”
DA Singas said on November 4, 2016 at approximately 12:30 a.m., the defendant and victim were arguing in the bedroom of their Seitz Drive home in Bethpage. During the argument over their pending divorce, Robert Crumb stabbed and slashed his wife, Maria Crumb, multiple times in her back. Upon hearing the commotion, the couple’s then 12-year-old son attempted to stop the stabbing by jumping onto his father’s back, but was thrown off. The defendant then attacked his teenage daughter and later returned to the bedroom to stab his wife again in the neck.
The couple’s son called 911 and members of the Nassau County Police Department responded to the home and Maria Crumb was pronounced dead in the house by responding medical technicians from the NCPD.
The defendant fled the house, leading five Nassau County Police cars on a high-speed chase westbound on the Southern State Parkway and later the Belt Parkway into Brooklyn. At times, the defendant was driving at 90 miles an hour. The chase ended when the defendant crashed his car into a Citgo Gas Station at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Flatlands Avenue, causing the car to burst into flames.
After the crash, Crumb charged at one of the officers, knocking him to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness. Multiple officers then jumped onto the defendant and he was arrested.
The defendant was acquitted of one count of Assault in the 2nd Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd Degree.
Michael Walsh, Chief of DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Emma Slane of DA Singas’ Special Victims Bureau are prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by Stephen Scaring, Esq.