East Quogue Man Convicted Of 1st-Degree Murder After Torturing, Beating, Suffocating, Stabbing Friend: DA

EAST QUOGUE, NY — An East Quogue man was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder after torturing and beating his longtime friend in a incident that rocked the quiet residential community.

On Thursday, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said that Jeremy Allen, 44, had been found guilty after a jury trial of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, after torturing and killing Christopher Hahn, 43.

The evidence at trial established that on September 27, 2024, Allen and the victim spent the evening at a bar before heading back to Allen’s East Quogue home, the DA said. The two had been friends since high school, Tierney said.

A few minutes after midnight, Allen began to brutally beat Hahn for about 18 minutes, the sounds of which were captured on Allen’s exterior surveillance video, Tierney said.

The rear exterior surveillance video then captured Allen dragging the bruised and semi-conscious Hahn onto the rear deck, the DA said.

Hahn was left on the back deck brutally injured and unable to stand, the DA said. Later, Allen returned to the rear deck and repeatedly struck the Hahn's head and body with a baseball bat, Tierney said.

Allen, who was aware that Hahn was alive and in distress, was captured on video leaving and then returning with a plastic bag, then placing the bag over Hahn's head and securing it with a loose knot, the DA said. Allen then sat on a lawn chair a few feet from the victim while watching him struggle to breathe for about eight minutes, the DA said.

Allen then retrieved a large knife from inside his home and slowly stabbed the Hahn in the neck 10 times; he stood over the Hahn and watched as he took his last breaths, six hours after the torture began, the DA said.

After the murder, Allen covered Hahn with a blanket and then attempted to clean the blood inside the house and on the back deck, Tierney said.

Allen also contacted his handyman to help him come clean his house, the DA said. When the handyman arrived, he observed blood throughout the home and saw Hahn's body covered by the blanket on the back deck, the DA said.

Allen told the handyman that he could not leave the home, given what he had just observed, Tierney said.

The handyman, after persuading Allen to allow him to leave the home, fled and called the police, the DA said. Allen was apprehended by law enforcement at his home shortly thereafter, Tierney said.

On January 21, Allen was convicted of first-degree murder, a Class A felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony, after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei, the DA said.

Allen is due back in court on February 26 and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, the DA said.

He is being represented by Colin Astarita, who could not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"This defendant betrayed a bond of friendship in the most horrific way imaginable, and today’s verdict holds him accountable," said Tierney. "The evidence presented at trial demonstrated the deliberate cruelty of his actions over the course of several hours. I thank the prosecutors for their dedication to ensuring the victim received justice, the Suffolk Police’s homicide squad for their thorough investigation in this case, and the jury for their careful attention during this trial."