Brandon Paulino choked to death by fellow resident of home for mentally ill in fight sparked child abuse accusations: complaint

A man weighing “almost 400 lbs” was choked to death by his neighbor when a brawl broke outside a Brooklyn home for the mentally ill, authorities said — with the accused killer claiming self-defense because the victim was twice his size.

The victim, Brandon Paulino, accused Eduardo Martinez of raping a 3-year-old girl before he punched Martinez outside their apartment building shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a criminal complaint.

While he was attacking Martinez on MacDougal Street near Broadway, prosecutors said Paulino became exhausted and keeled over on his stomach.

That’s when Martinez jumped on his rival’s back and choked him with his hands, witnesses and Martinez allegedly told cops.

Martinez told police: “[I] was not trying to kill him,” according to court documents.

Responding officers found Paulino, who was described as “almost 400 lbs,” unconscious on the sidewalk after the attack, and he was rushed by EMS to Interfaith Medical Center but could not be saved, the NYPD said. 

He died from asphyxiation, according to the Medical Examiner’s office. 

Both men lived at the MacDougal Street Apartments, a residence for people with mental health problems.

Martinez’s lawyer, Scott Cerbin, told The Post his client was defending himself against a much larger man who was undergoing “some sort of psychotic episode” and making “nonsensical allegations.”

“My client thinks he’s off of his meds,” Cerbin said, referring to Paulino.

“The attacker is like 400 pounds and he’s the initial attacker.”

Meanwhile, Cerbin estimates Martinez is “under 200 pounds” and a “regular, average sized guy.”

But it is not Martinez’s first run in with the law.

In 2004, he attacked a nurse inside NYC Health/Hospitals Harlem and was charged with assault, according to police.

“He snatched away a syringe from a nurse and struck her in the shoulder with it,” a police source told The Post.

At his Brooklyn Criminal Court arraignment Wednesday, Martinez pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges.

Judge Monique Holaman set $50,000 cash bail.

His next court appearance is March 1.