The twisted Staten Island teen accused of decapitating his mom’s boyfriend eerily stared, with an oddly calm expression on his face, as he pleaded not guilty to the gruesome murder Friday.
Damien Hurstel, 19, shuffled unbothered into a Richmond County courtroom, for the first time since he allegedly killed, beheaded and mutilated Anthony Casalaspro, 45, last week inside their shared West Brighton home.
“Yes,” Hurstel, his messy hair covering one eye, said as Judge Raymond Rodriguez asked if he was pleading not guilty to the murder charge — the only word he uttered during the hearing.
Seven of his family members quietly sat in the courtroom as the gaunt teen walked in, clad in a rumpled orange jumpsuit and bearing a distant, strangely serene expression.
The apparently mentally ill Hurstel had previously been arraigned by video from a hospital bed days after allegedly stabbing, killing and butchering Casalaspro — a sanitation worker — on Oct. 6.
A blood-soaked Hurstel allegedly showed his 16-year-old little sister the mutilated body during a horrific encounter inside their Cary Avenue home.
Their mother, Alicia Zayas, previously told The Post that Hurstel tried to explain what happened.
“How he was going to fix everything, like it could be fixed,” Zayas said in disbelief, tears streaming down her face.
Hurstel’s sister ran outside, hid and made a chilling call to Zayas.
“She said, ‘Damien killed Anthony, and he doesn’t have a head,’” Zayas said.
A grisly crime scene photo shows Casalaspro’s severed head lying next to his corpse inside the home’s walk-in shower, with a bowl and a saw on the floor nearby.
The handle of a silver-colored spoon could be seen sticking out of the dismembered skull, along with a plastic sauce ladle on the dismembered body’s chest, the photo shows.
Law enforcement sources said Hurstel allegedly confessed, telling cops he planned to dispose of Casalaspro’s body by cutting it into pieces and pulverizing the parts in a blender, starting with the brain.
In court, Hurstel didn’t appear affected by the horror of his alleged crime.
He stared straight ahead without trying to move his head to sweep his wavy hair from covering his eye.
The judge ordered that Hurstel stay jailed and continue receiving medical attention and psychiatric care, as well as remain on suicide watch.
Hurstel is next scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20.
Zayas declined to comment after the hearing.
