Queens man says he didn't kill wife and son - his split personality did

BY Wil Cruz, Joe Jackson, Brendan Brosh and Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Originally Published:Saturday, November 21st 2009, 4:42 PM
Updated: Saturday, November 21st 2009, 10:30 PM

A Queens dad with a split personality was busted Saturday for slitting the throats of his wife and 14-year-old son - and then blaming the horrific crime on his alter ego, cops said.

"Otto does not do these things, but Robert does," Otto Herrarte, 48, a cleaner at the Helmsley Hotel in Manhattan, told investigators, a source said.

"Otto did not do it. Robert did it."

The twisted confession came hours after cops found the bodies of Herrarte's wife, Edna, 55, and son Daniel, stuffed in a closet inside their Corona home.

Investigators believe Herrarte slaughtered his family members Friday night.

When the maniacal male housekeeper's other son, David, 15, returned home that night and asked about the whereabouts of his mom and brother, Herrarte concocted an elaborate lie.

"He said they had been in a car accident and wouldn't be coming home," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. "The son was unaware the bodies were in the apartment," wrapped in black plastic bags.

The next morning, Herrarte called a female co-worker he was dating and asked her to join him as he brought David to the home of a sister-in-law, sources said.

Once inside the home, Herrarte delivered an ominous message to his boy.

"This is going to be your new mother," Herrarte said, according to relatives.

After Herrarte and his mistress returned to the apartment, she learned what he did and dialed 911, cops said.

Herrarte, who was charged with two counts of murder, quickly confessed to the crime, cops said.

He told detectives "he killed his wife and son by slashing their throats, and then hid their bodies in the closet overnight," Browne said.

Edna Herrarte's loved ones said her husband ruled the home with an iron fist.

"My sister-in-law was like a slave, physically and mentally," Jose Pur, 64, said. "Whatever he wants to do, she didn't say nothing."

Pur said Otto Herrarte became especially abusive after he started dating his paramour.

"He used to be [a] nice, nice guy, but he changed since starting to go out with this woman," Pur said. "For me, it's horrible ... [Edna] was a wonderful woman. She loved the kids, and she wanted the best for them."

The gruesome slaying left Otto Herrarte's co-workers at the Helmsley stunned.

"He's a good worker," cleaner Maria Urqui, 54, said. "He never talked about his marriage, but he always said his wife is a very sick lady. My hair is standing on end."