Professor beaten to death

Detectives charged a man found hiding in a basement closet of a Brooklyn home with beating to death a college professor whose body was found nearby. Police responded to a 911 call just before 6 p.m. Monday about a burglary in progress at 155 Statford Road in Flatbush when they found the body of Jeremy Safran, 66, a professor at the New School, on the floor. He had suffered trauma to the head and body. A hammer was reportedly discovered near his body.