Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
A detective, armed with an arrest warrant, arrived at the home of the defendant's aunt where he found the defendant asleep on the couch. Upon identifying himself and informing the defendant that he was under arrest, the defendant stated "time came". Later, while the detective was obtaining pedigree information from him at the precinct, the defendant stated "I didn't kill him; a ghost killed him". The defendant had not been advised of his Miranda rights prior to the making of these statements.
We find the initial statement of the defendant to have been spontaneous and not the result of inducement, provocation, encouragement or acquiescence (see, People v Maerling, 46 N.Y.2d 289). The detective neither said nor did anything which he should have known would elicit an incriminating response (see, Rhode Is. v Innis, 446 U.S. 291; People v Ferro, 63 N.Y.2d 316, cert denied 472 U.S. 1007; People v Lynes, 49 N.Y.2d 286).
The defendant's subsequent statement at the precinct while the detective was trying to obtain pedigree information from him was also freely and voluntarily made without any coercive police conduct (see, People v Bryant, 87 A.D.2d 873, affd 59 N.Y.2d 786, rearg denied 65 N.Y.2d 638; People v Lenart, 91 A.D.2d 132). The detective was not required "to take affirmative steps, by gag or otherwise, to prevent [the] talkative person in custody from making an incriminating statement" (People v Rivers, 56 N.Y.2d 476, 479, rearg denied 57 N.Y.2d 775). Consequently, the hearing court properly denied the defendant's motion to suppress his statements.
Since the repeated stabbing of the unarmed decedent was unprovoked, the defendant's sentence was not unduly harsh or excessive (see, People v Suitte, 90 A.D.2d 80). Mollen, P.J., Lawrence, Weinstein and Kooper, JJ., concur.