A physician assistant was arrested this weekend for driving across several states, stalking his ex-girlfriend and then killing her husband.
Jacob Klein, 40, of Wirtz, Virginia, is facing a count of murder in the second degree after being brought back to New York State, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said in a press conference on Saturday.
Klein Allegedly 'Bound, Slashed, and Mutilated' the Victim
According to authorities, Klein, "bound, slashed and mutilated" Philip L. Rabadi, 35, in the victim's Town of New Scotland home on Wednesday, the Times-Union wrote.
Officials believe that Klein drove his personal vehicle from his residence in Franklin County, Virginia to the Albany, New York area. There, he allegedly rented a vehicle from Enterprise and used it to spy on both the Rabadi residence and on St. Peter's Hospital, where the victim and his wife, Elana Z. Radin, both worked — also as physician assistants, according to the hospital website.
Radin, who was identified as Klein's ex-girlfriend, was unaware she was being stalked, and Rabadi also did not know Klein, Sheriff Apple said. According to an online wedding registry website, Radin and Rabadi had only recently tied the knot – on Sept. 10, 2021.
Klein Waited for Radin to Leave Home, Then Stabbed Rabadi to Death
Authorities say Klein waited forRadin to leave home for work early Wednesday morning and doorbell camera footage provided by neighbors showed Klein approaching the home, Rabadi opening the door and appearing to react as if a weapon was shown, a source for the Times-Union said. The victim retreated into the home, and Klein followed, the source added.
Authorities noted Radin called 911 after her husband did not arrive for work. A deputy, who arrived at the home around the same time as the wife and the victim's father, found Rabadi dead, Apple said. Injuries included multiple stab wounds to the upper body and head, the authorities reportedly said. Klein allegedly then returned the rented vehicle and was back in Virginia by Thursday.
Apple said Virginia and Tennessee state troopers arrested Klein on Friday. A source for the Times-Union said Klein during the final confrontation appeared to have reached toward his glove box — where authorities later found a handgun — but he stopped. He was otherwise arrested without incident, the newspaper said.
Klein was locked up at the Abingdon Regional Jail in Virginia, online records show. Authorities cannot talk to him because he has an attorney, Apple said. He is scheduled to be arraigned before a federal magistrate judge for unlawful flight from prosecution, Apple said.
