A knock at the door led to a night of terror for Stafford Brown when a knife-wielding man, who police say is a murder suspect, pushed his way into Brown's apartment.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Stafford Brown was making dinner inside his small apartment on the 10th floor at Parenti Villa on Monday night when someone knocked at the door.
Brown, 57, was exhausted. He'd had a long day at work, and he was still tired after a trip to New York City to visit his daughters and a new granddaughter.
So, his guard was down. He didn't look out the peephole before he opened the door.
A desperate man with a knife rushed inside.
That afternoon, Nathan Spardello had attacked his wife, his sister-in-law and mother-in-law at their home in 146 Hazael St., according to police. Hours later, police say, the 28-year-old man forced his way into a third-floor apartment at 62 Russo St. and stabbed an innocent man, Luis Carrillo, 35, to death.
Spardello was on the run. Police thought he might go to Parenti Villa, a public housing high-rise in Federal Hill, because his father lives here. There are nearly 200 housing units in the 16-story building, which makes for a lot of places to hide.
Police were afraid of what could happen if they didn't find Spardello soon. "This was a real dangerous guy, and he was on a mission to harm someone else," said Police Chief Hugh T. Clements Jr.
Police officers were inside and outside the building, stopping the elevators and checking the floors where Spardello knew people and was likely to visit. "They were scrambling," Clements said.
They didn't know the fugitive was in a stranger's apartment.
Brown stepped back as the man with the knife came at him. "I said, What's this for? I don't have any money. You've got the wrong apartment."
The stranger told him to have a seat. "He said, I need a place to hide from the police," Brown said. "I said, 'Why here?' "
Brown had just moved to Providence from New York a few months ago. Other people in this building knew Spardello, but he didn't.
The man, whom the police later identified as Spardello, didn’t answer. He asked Brown if he wanted to smoke weed. "I said, we're not allowed to smoke in this building," Brown said.
Spardello lit up a joint and started talking. He was angry at his wife and accusing her of all kinds of things. He said that he went to another man's house, and "somebody came to the door and he didn't know if he killed the guy or not," Brown said.
Brown noticed the stranger's swollen hands, holding the knife.
Spardello talked for about an hour or more in the small living room, where Brown's beloved goldfish swim in a small tank and photos of his children hang on the wall. "I just listened," Brown said. "If you're a good listener, you'll be his friend."
But Spardello kept rambling and pacing, and after a while Brown found it hard to listen: "It was just blah, blah, blah."
Spardello's cellphone rang. It was Detective Michael Otrando, one of the department's trained negotiators, the chief said. As Spardello ranted at the detective, Brown tried to slip away.
Spardello was too close to the door, so Brown went into his bedroom. "I put on my hoodie and sweatpants, and got under the blanket," he said.
As it grew later, Jennifer Cirillo became uneasy. She and Brown have been together for three years, and he usually calls her every night at a certain time. "When you're with someone for a long time, you know when something's wrong," she said.
She called Brown and heard trouble in his voice.
How are you doing? she asked. I can't tell you right now, Brown answered.
She could hear a man's voice in the background, agitated and angry. What's going on? Cirillo asked Brown. He answered, I just want to let you know I love you.
Brown was afraid Spardello would overhear him. He thought about the police officers he'd seen in the lobby when he came home from work. They were looking for this man.
Brown told Cirillo to message her brother, Billy Leckenby, who lives on the 14th floor, and ask him what was going on in the lobby. And to say that "he" was in Brown's apartment.
Cirillo relayed the message, and Leckenby told her about the police. They realized Brown was being held hostage. "My heart dropped into my stomach," Cirillo said.
Leckenby called 911 and told a dispatcher that the suspect was in Brown's apartment. Then, he ran down to get to Brown.
Two officers on the 10th floor stopped him, but Leckenby pointed them to Brown's apartment and handed them his phone. Brown and Cirillo were on the line together. "I was telling my fiancé, stay calm, stay in your room," said Cirillo, a certified nurse's assistant. "Sometimes, when someone has mental issues or drug issues, they're scared."
Lt. David Allen got on the phone with them. "The police officer told me to be calm," Brown said. "He asked me where I was. I said, I'm in my room, and he was in the living room."
For the next four hours, Brown didn't leave his bedroom. He could hear an officer talking to Spardello through the door. On his phone, Brown listened to Cirillo and Allen.
"I just said to him to remain calm and do not try to force anything on this man. Just stay out of his way," Cirillo said. "The suspect's mind was going. He didn't know what he was going to do. I told Stafford that the officer was on the line, hearing everything."
Spardello paced and ranted. He knocked over the television, smashed an Xbox and threw things around. "I told my fiancé, it can be replaced," Cirillo said. "As long as he doesn't hurt you. That's the main thing."
Spardello threatened to kill everyone. "He was saying, 'If you come in this door, I'm jumping out that window,' " Brown said. "He was telling the police, 'I'm not going out of this alone.' I thought, Oh yeah, really? I'm not going out that window with you."
Spardello wanted to talk to his wife. He wanted a Happy Meal. Cirillo heard an officer tell him they could help him, if he would just come out. The police went through three negotiators, Otrando, Lt. Mike Fallon and Sgt. Carlos Sical, trying to persuade Spardello to surrender.
"He was absolutely wound up and agitated. It was a high-risk hostage situation," said Chief Clements. "And he had nothing to lose."
Cirillo and Brown prayed together, "to just keep him safe, and forgive the man who did this hurt to everybody," Cirillo said. Brown was worn out, and even threats from a delusional man couldn't keep him awake. "He said, 'I love you. Whatever God wants, God wants,' " Cirillo said. And Brown fell asleep.
Tuesday morning was breaking. The officers were running out of time, Clements said, and worried about Brown's safety.
Over the phone, Cirillo heard the special response team break into the apartment. "I heard them yell, Get down! Get down!" The police tased Spardello and handcuffed him.
Brown awoke to find EMTs standing over him and heard Cirillo's voice on the phone asking about his blood pressure. "I can't thank the Providence Police Department enough," Cirillo said. "They did a good job, they really did."
Spardello's wife filed for divorce on Wednesday.
Brown is still shaken. It was two days before he felt safe to go down to the lobby.
The first thing he did was look for a manager. He's requesting a different apartment.
— amilkovi@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7213
On Twitter: @AmandaMilkovits