NEW YORK, United States - The Queens landlord charged with the triple murder of his girlfriend and two tenants on Tuesday said that he "just snapped" under stress and "a lot of pressure", police said Thursday.

In a statement to Queens police, David Daniel, 54, who is said to have Jamaican roots, was arraigned on Wednesday on three counts of first-degree and second-degree murder, as well as criminal possession of a weapon.

The three victims have been identified as Evette Sweeney 55, Thomas Wayne, 57 and Caesar Fields, his girlfriend.

Police investigators theorise that the three were killed as a result of a long-running dispute over the non-payment of rent which the girlfriend was supposed to be paying, as well.

Daniel told police he snapped after allegedly being mocked by his girlfriend over his inability do anything about the rent which the other two tenants had reportedly not paid since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

The New York Daily News quoted prosecutors as saying during Daniel's arraignment that they would be seeking life imprisonment without parole.

But the paper quoted Daria Aumand, an attorney for Daniel, as saying that she wants him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. "It may be an extreme emotional distress issue or another psychiatric issue where it's best for doctor to evaluate," the paper quoted the attorney as saying.

Melinda Katz, the Queens District attorney is reported in a statement as saying that "the bloody crime scene was the result of extraordinary brutality".

In the meantime, Daniel is scheduled to return to court today.

The triple homicide has continued to reverberate around the St Albans community which is home to a large number of Jamaican and other Caribbean nationals.