A lawyer was allegedly beaten to death with a hammer by his 18-year-old roommate in Astoria. According to police, 29-year-old attorney Jesse Smith was found with severe head trauma inside his luxury apartment building on 21st Street in Astoria around 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Smith, who worked for Forest Hills firm Morton Povman, P.C., was taken to Elmhurt General Hospital, where he died. His roommate, 18-year-old Quentin Capobianco, has been arrested and charged with second degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Cops recovered a hammer and a shotgun at the shared apartment.
Police sources told the News that Smith was struggling with a heroin addiction, and that the fight between roommates may have been over drugs.
According to his lawyer profile with Povman, which has since been taken down, Smith grew up on Long Island and received a psychology degree from the University of Vermont. He attended Hoffstra University School of Law, then worked at a "prestigious criminal defense firm" before joining Povman where he worked on personal injury claims.
