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Crime News

Man Crushes Wife's Skull With Hammer In Front Of Sleeping Son, Who Woke Up To See Mommy's 'Boo-Boo'

Marc Alan Berkowitz allegedly decided to use a hammer because he knew that it would break his wife’s cranium.

By Gina Tron
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A Florida man crushed his wife’s skull with a hammer in a bedroom they shared with their 7-year-old son, according to police.

Marc Alan Berkowitz, 42, is accused of using a hammer to bash his wife Anastisiya Savitskaya’s skull on June 28 in their Plantation home. After the killing, he allegedly ran into his mother’s bedroom, in the same home, to confess to the murder, the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale reported.

Berkowitz’ mother Barbara Waterson attempted to dial 911 but Berkowitz was the one who spoke to the police dispatcher, according to the arrest report.

“I killed my wife. I didn’t use a knife. I used a hammer to kill her,” he said, according to the report, as reported by the Sun Sentinel. He later allegedly told police that he worked in construction and decided to use a hammer because he knew that it would break his wife’s cranium.

His mother, Waterson told police that the family moved in with her a year ago. She said the couple didn’t get along. She described the couple’s relationship as similar to “living in a war zone," according to the Sun Sentinel.

She told police she brought her grandson into the bathroom to try to shield him from seeing the aftermath of his mom’s murder. However, the child told the cops he woke up to see his father trying to wake his mother, police said. The boy said it sounded like his mom was “snoring,” according to the Sun Sentinel. He said there was blood in her hair and that she had a “boo-boo” on her head. The child also said he witnessed Berkowitz dragging his mom out of the bedroom and that “mommy wouldn’t wake up.”

Police believe the motive behind the murder was Savitskaya’s plans to divorce Berkowitz. He allegedly revealed to police that he would “rather have her dead than leave me,” according to the Sun Sentinel.

Waterson told WPLG in Miami that her son "snapped.”

The slain mother, who was 33, graduated from Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Berkowitz has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and is being held without bail.

[Photos: Broward Sheriff’s Office, Facebook]