Police: Man arrested for allegedly strangling his wife to death in their Merrick home

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Nassau County homicide detectives arrested John Gerges, of Merrick, in connection with the death of his wife, Marvat Gerges, who was found strangled to death in their home at 14 Lindgren St. last Saturday afternoon.

As Gerges, 60, left the detention facility at Nassau County Police Headquarters to be transferred to Hempstead’s First District Court Monday morning, he told reporters, “I’m innocent.”

According to Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, on Feb. 22, police responded to a 911 call around 2:30 p.m. after the Gerges’ 32-year-old son returned home from work and found Marvat dead on her bed.  A medical examiner determined asphyxiation as the cause of death. She was 58 years old.

The incident allegedly escalated from a verbal argument earlier that day, Fitzpatrick said. As the son was leaving for work at 3 a.m., he observed his parents arguing over their broken kitchen sink, which Gerges was attempting to repair.

When the Homicide Squad interviewed Gerges at the home the following day, he told them he and his wife were then involved “in a physical fight,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that John “put his hands on her Marvat, ceasing her ability to breath and causing asphyxiation, [which caused] her death.”

Gerges also told reporters Monday that he had been “abused [by his wife] for years,” but Fitzpatrick said there was no prior history of domestic incidents between the couple on file within the department.

The Gerges’ had been married for 37 years. Neighbors told detectives that John was “a quiet neighbor,” Fitzpatrick said. He also reported that Marvat had some physical disabilities, and that John was helping to take care of her. 

Gerges was charged with second-degree murder, and was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.