Hammer-wielding burglar beats world-renowned psychology professor to death in his Brooklyn home

A world famous psychology professor was brutally murdered in the basement of his own home after a burglar broke into his home.

Police discovered the body of Jeremy D. Saffran, 66, lying on the floor of his Brooklyn home at around 6pm on Monday night.

Then they found a blood-covered man they believe to be the burglar hiding in the closet, police sources said. 

The 28-year-old suspect is believed to have followed Safran’s daughter to the location, where he briefly spoke to her in an apparent effort to case the home, sources said.

Police found his body at his Brooklyn home (pictured) moments before they discovered a blood-soaked man hiding in a closet

A neighbor later spotted him break in and called the daughter after hearing the sound of screaming coming from the basement. 

‘I saw him this morning when he was coming out of the car like he was coming from the supermarket,’ said neighbor Jillian Daniels.

‘It’s shocking because we’ve been here for 24 years. … You become so complacent you don’t think about something like this.’ 

‘It’s appalling,’ another witness said at the scene. ‘It’s a lovely looking neighborhood and it’s a great place to live.

‘But this is New York City and you just can’t drop your guard.’

The 28-year-old suspect was later taken into police custody for questioning. 

Dr Safran served as a professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York where he worked for many years as Director of Clinical Training.  

He was also a faculty member at New York University’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis – and made vital contributions to the field of Emotion-Focused Therapy. 

Police said they believed the 28-year old man had been intending to burgle the professor’s home

A neighbour was said to have spotted the man break-in and called his daughter when they heard screaming from the basement