A North Carolina man pleaded guilty to stabbing another man to death in the parking lot of a Stony Brook establishment.
On November 10, 2025, at approximately 3:42 a.m., Suffolk County Police received a 911 call reporting an unconscious male on the ground in the parking lot of the Stony Brook Yacht Club. Police and EMS responded to the scene where they discovered Christopher Millwater, 52, of Selden, with two stab wounds to the chest. He was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The subsequent police investigation, which included witness interviews and review of video and audio surveillance, revealed that Millwater pulled into the Stony Brook Yacht Club and parked his car shortly before the 911 call was placed.
Victor Panebianco and his co-defendant, Kacy Corso, had just pulled into the same lot, both sitting inside Corso’s vehicle.
Panebianco exited the passenger side of the vehicle and approached the victim. Upon seeing the defendant, Millwater drove around Corso’s car towards the exit of the parking lot, but Corso crashed into him, preventing him from leaving. At that point, the victim exited his car and attempted to run away from the scene.
Panebianco chased after Millwater while swinging a knife, eventually catching up to the victim. The defendant continued to scuffle with Millwater, threatened to kill him and kicked him in the head as the victim laid motionless.
Panebianco and Corso then got back into the vehicle and fled the scene and the state.
Cell phone records were obtained from Panebianco’s phone which showed that Panebianco arrived on Long Island from out of state approximately an hour and a half before the murder and fled New York after the killing.
On November 19, 2025, Panebianco was arrested in North Carolina with the help of the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.
On August 11, 2026, Panebianco, 32, of King, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B felony, before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei. Panebianco is due back in court for sentencing on September 22, 2026, and he is expected to be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
On July 22, 2026, Corso pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree for her role in the crime. She is expected to be sentenced on September 2, 2026, to seven years in prison.
“The defendant’s guilty plea does not take away the pain of the loss that Christopher Millwater’s friends and loved ones have endured,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “However, his admission of guilt spares them from enduring a painful and difficult trial while holding Victor Panebianco fully accountable for this heinous killing. I want to thank our prosecutors for securing this conviction, as well as the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office and the Suffolk County Police Department for their work on this case.”