Woman accused of stabbing father to death
A 27-year-old soccer coach stands accused of fatally stabbing her 69-year-old father, who was a UPMC internist, in a domestic dispute allegedly inspired by heartbreak and a 2001 mummy movie.
Allegheny County Police arrested Christina Nicassio, a head coach and personal trainer at the Allegheny Force Football Club. She was being held in the Allegheny County Jail until a self-inflicted injury caused her to be taken to a hospital Saturday afternoon.
Dead from a knife in the chest is her father, Anthony Nicassio, an internist and primary care physician at Greater Pittsburgh Medical Associates-UPMC, on Saltsburg Road.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Dr. Nicassio, who was a dedicated and skilled physician and who devoted his life
to compassionate care of his patients,” UPMC officials said in a statement.
Dr. Nicassio was found dead in his home in the 9900 block of Capri Court, in Plum, around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to county press releases.
Police and paramedics reached the scene following a 911 call, and found Dr. Nicassio with a knife still in his chest.
According to an affidavit by county Detective James Fitzgerald, Dr. Nicassio’s wife told police that their daughter had been through “a bad break-up,” and that the couple had been trying to persuade her to let them take her to a hospital.
The wife, Sandra Nicassio, told officers that when they tried to get their daughter into a vehicle, she grabbed a knife. When her father tried to take the knife, she stabbed him, Mrs. Nicassio said, according to the affidavit.
Christina Nicassio consented to an interview, according to the affidavit, and indicated that she broke up with her fiance a week earlier.
She told officers: “I don’t know why, I thought he had to die,” according to the affidavit. She then referred to a movie, “The Mummy Returns,” in which, she said, “someone who can’t love someone else, they stab their father,” according to the affidavit.
Christina Nicassio “was taken into custody without incident,” according to the county. She was being held at the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment on charges of homicide and possessing instruments of crime.
Then, around 2:45 p.m., Ms. Nicassio suffered a 4inch laceration to the front of her head. It was unclear how Ms. Nicassio was injured, but she told jail staff she did it to herself because she was upset about what she had done.
She was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in stable condition.
Dr. Nicassio attended the Drexel/Hahnemann University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and did his residency at St. Francis Medical Center, in Pittsburgh.
A former Realtor, Christina Nicassio has worked as a part-time coach for the Allegheny Force Football Club. As recently as this week, she coached a team of 16-yearold girls.
“She seemed like a pretty nice person and kids loved her,” said club president Jamie Holt.
“It’s kind of shocking to us to wake up this morning and hear that.”
He said the club screens its coaches and would not have hired Ms. Nicassio to the paid part-time post if she had not been respected.
“Our thoughts go out to the family,” he said. “We’re going to have some counseling available for the kids from her team” beginning at its practice Monday.
The University of Pittsburgh’s sports website indicates that Ms. Nicassio played soccer for the Panthers from 2007 through 2009, appearing in 46 games. According to the website, she was a “five-year participant in the Pennsylvania Olympic Development Program” and a “four-time Student-Athlete Scholar Award winner.”
Christina Nicassio used to work alongside her mother for Northwood Realty Services, according to the daughter’s Facebook page.
Her preliminary hearing is set for May 17.