Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

A Nanuet stabbing has become a murder case after a 50-year-old local man died from multiple stab wounds allegedly inflicted by a Yonkers resident last month.

Eric Leopold, a contractor, died July 25 after being stabbed multiple times in the torso near his home at 97 Tennyson Drive nine days earlier, according to Clarkstown police.

Police had originally charged 48-year-old Frank Keogh of Yonkers with attempted murder and other felony counts but the top charge was upgraded to second-degree murder following Leopold's death by the Rockland District Attorney's Office, Clarkstown Police Officer Peter Walker said Wednesday.

A Rockland grand jury returned the murder charge and other counts against Keogh on Friday, Walker said.

What caused Keogh to attack his acquaintance with a knife remains under investigation, Walker said.

Leopold's younger brother, Jason Leopold of California, said friends and family remained shocked.

"At this time, I would say there are no words to describe the injustice and the loss my family and I, as well as Eric's many friends, feel," he wrote Wednesday in an email.

He described his brother as having a "big heart, (he) was so kind, loyal, generous and always--ALWAYS-- ready to provide a helping hand.

"He was a very protective big brother. His passion was collecting and customizing Harley Davidson motorcycles," he added. "Ride on, Eric."

A 1984 Pearl River High School graduate, Eric Leopold's survivors also include a young sister, Michelle, and his parents, Rachel and Steve.

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Keogh remains in the county jail on $500,000 bail.

Keogh was arrested by the state police after a traffic stop in Wappingers Falls, police said.

The murder charge against Keogh mark the third homicide in Rockland in 2016

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