Convicted killer stabs roommate to death over unrequited love, sheriff says

A 71-year-old man convicted of stabbing to death his estranged wife in New Hampshire more than 20 years ago was charged with killing another woman in Florida over unrequited love.

During a press conference outside of the home in the 3500 block of Trask Drive in Holiday on Wednesday, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said Warren Birkbeck was living with two women, ages 42 and 85.

Birkbeck was in love with Denise Cook, the younger roommate, but she didn’t return his feelings, he later told investigators after being read his Miranda rights. He became upset when he overheard Cook on the phone with a man, so he barged into her bedroom.

When Cook yelled for Birkbeck to leave, he walked to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed her “approximately three to four times in the chest,” the arrest affidavit read.

“I just have a hard time being rejected,” Birkbeck told police when asked why he killed Cook.

Birkbeck then went told the 85-year-old roommate, who called 911 around 3:13 a.m. to report the stabbing.

According to the affidavit, the woman gave the phone to Birkbeck, who told the operator, “I killed the girl because she’s nothing but a cheating b---h. ... I just had to. I just flipped out tonight and I ended up killing her.”

Nocco told reporters Birkbeck was convicted of manslaughter in Massachusetts in 1963 and convicted in 1999 for second-degree murder for stabbing his estranged wife to death, according to news organization WMUR.

“No other way to say it. He’s a killer,” Nocco said.

Birkbeck was released from prison in 2015 and was on probation until 2029, Nocco said. That same year, he moved in with his sister on Trask Drive. After she died, he moved in with the two women next door.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victim’s family,” Nocco said. “This is going to be a horrific day for her family and we just hope that people pray for her.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Convicted killer stabs roommate to death over unrequited love, sheriff says."