Teenager Pleads Guilty to Tragic Fatal Stabbing at West Babylon Party

A Syosset man, Aiden Zachary, who was a minor at the time of the incident last year, has pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing 15-year-old Liam Delemo at a West Babylon house party. Zachary, now 18, admitted to first-degree manslaughter on Thursday and will be sentenced as an adult, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

The tragic event occurred on November 3, 2024, when Zachary, then 17, and two friends arrived uninvited to a party attended by approximately 100 teenagers. After being asked to leave, the situation escalated. Video footage captured Zachary yelling at someone inside the house to “come outside” and threatening other attendees. Liam Delemo subsequently tackled Zachary in the front yard, and during the fight on the ground, Zachary pulled a knife from his waistband and repeatedly stabbed Delemo.

Prosecutors detailed that Delemo suffered severe stab wounds to his arm and abdomen, which severed his colon and pancreas. He tragically died during surgery at Good Samaritan University Hospital. District Attorney Ray Tierney described the incident as a “senseless act of violence” that has “forever changed” both teens’ families, emphasizing that the “young defendant chose to escalate a dispute with a deadly weapon, resulting in the tragic death of a 15-year-old boy.”

Delemo’s parents, who resided around the corner from the party, rushed to the scene after receiving a call from one of his friends, finding their son conscious but “white as a ghost” on the back deck of the home. Zachary initially faced charges as an adolescent offender due to his age at the time of the crime. However, having turned 18, he will now be sentenced as an adult.

Zachary’s guilty plea was entered before acting state Supreme Court Justice Karen Kerr at Suffolk County District Youth Court in Central Islip. He is scheduled to return to court on November 4, marking one year after Delemo’s death, for sentencing.