The Murder Book 2008

July 21st -- 2 dead & arrest in Staten Island stabbing...

Henry Showard, a 45-year-old black male, was stabbed to death last Thursday with a screwdriver inside his Staten Island apartment, and yesterday police announced that they'd arrested Ruth "Grandma" Wade, a 64-year-old acquaintance who has a history of violence and drug arrests, according to a story in the Daily News.

Wade, who had been living Showard and his wife in their Stapleton partment, allegedly stabbed Showard in the neck after having an argument with him and his wife.

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An unidentified 44-year-old black male was found shot once in the head last Thursday in front of 1533 Sterling Place in Brooklyn, according to police reports. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests. 

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July 8th & 9th -- 2 dead...

Grant Fleming, a 21-year-old black male, was shot to death with his own gun Tuesday evening while he apparently was attempting to rob someone, according to a story in the Daily News.

Fleming was shot on the fifth floor of a building in the Richmond Terrace Houses on Staten Island. He collapsed and was taken to Richmond University Medical Center where he later died. The News story reported that Fleming was from a "criminal family" and that two of his brothers are in prison.

Rudy Fleming, 23, was convicted of killing Nicole duFresne on the lower East Side in 2005. Another brother, Royal Fleming, 29, beat a man with a baseball bat during a robbery last year, according to the story.

A police source told The News: "It looks like he was shot with his own gun. This family is very well known to us on Staten Island for their long and glorious history of criminal behavior."

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An unidentified Latino male, believed to be between 17 and 20 years old, was found stabbed to death at West 162nd Street and Broadway in upper Manhattan, according to a police report. He was taken to Columbia Presbysterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. No arrests.

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June 21st -- 3 dead, including child starved to death....

Matthew Mason, a 7-week-old white baby boy, died last March from complications brought on by starvation, and his parents were charged Friday with manslaughter, according to stories in the Daily News and Staten Island Advance.

Matthew's parents, Joanne Fezza, 42, and Peter Mason, 46, (S.I. Advance photo) yesterday were arraigned on manslaughter, and held on $500,000 bail each after an autopsy revealed that they'd allegedly starved their baby son to death. Matthew weighed less than two pounds when he was taken from his family's home on March 23rd.

The couple also faces charges of child endangerment for allegedly failing to provide for their 5-year-old son who was taken away by the Administration for Children's Services on Friday.

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Olga Rodriguez, a 49-year-old Latina female, was found stabbed to death Friday in her apartment at 715 Eagle Avenue in the Bronx, according to a police report and media reports. The building superintendent, who went to her apartment to pick up the rent, apparently found her and called police. She had multiple stab wounds to her body, and was pronounced dead on arrival by responding EMS workers. No arrests.

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Dorrian Sweeney, a 20-year-old black male, died early last week from a stab wound he received back on June 11th in front of 88-40 173rd Street, according to a police report. Sweeney survived for a couple of days at Mary Immaculate Hospital but died on June 13th. Police arrested Aerris Grant, 28, of Queens, and charged him with Sweeney's murder.

 

June 12th -- 2 dead, a teenager and grandmother...

Najea Smith, a 17-year-old teen hit by a stray bullet intended for her brother, was taken off life support Sunday, two weeks after the shooting that eventually claimed her life, according to reports in the Daily News and Staten Island Advance. The high school junior who was studying to become a nurse had her organs donated to at least six others, according to family friends.

Smith was shot in the neck while she was inside her family's home at 203 Corson Avenue in Staten Island. A group of teens looking for Smith's brother fired several times through the front door of the home and Smith and another teen, who survived, were hit. One person turned himself in and is being held at Rikers Island although cops are still searching for the shooter, according to the story.

A family friend told the Advance: "(Smith) was a very special young lady. She was beating the odds, she was doing what she was supposed to do."

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Detra Young, a 51-year-old black woman who confronted an angry teenager who was allegedly beating his pregnant girlfriend, died this week, two weeks after being shot at the Tompkin Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, according to a story in the Daily News.

The incident dates back to last November when Young, the mother of four and grandmother of five, got involved after seeing her pregnant neighbor being kicked in the stomach by her teenaged boyfriend. The boyfriend, identified only as Charles in the News story, was arrested until Memorial Day when he was released. He'd allegedly been sending threatening messages from prison to Young.

Two weeks ago, Charles' mother and uncle appeared at Young's home to discuss the situation when Charles emerged and allegedly shot the 51-year-old grandmother, according to the story. Charles remains at large.

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An unidentified 50-year-old white woman was found with a head wound in her bed Wednesday in Queens, and police are questioning her boyfriend, according to a story in the NY Post.

The boyfriend had called 911 from the woman's apartment on Fitchett Street in Rego Park to report she was bleeding from the back of her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police were investigating whether the woman's death might have been an accident. The boyfriend told cops the two slept in separate bedrooms, and that he heard a bump in the night. It's possible she may have fallen and hit her head. 

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Meanwhile, on the same day Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced the indictment of a building contractor for manslaughter in the death of one of his workers, the father of a teenager complained that a Brooklyn driver was only charged with driving with a suspended license after killing his son in a traffic accident.

Lamont Richey Jr., a 13-year-old, was hit by an ambulette driven by Carl Neblett at East 91st Street in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, according to a story in the Daily News. Lamont was hit as he tried to cross a street and did not see the ambulette coming because Lamont's vision was blocked by a line of double-parked trucks. Neblett remained at the scene after hitting the child.

Later, it was revealed that Neblett has had his license suspended seven times in the past five years, and was still driving for the ambulette company despite the fact that his license was still suspended because he did not pay a fine back in May, according to the story.

Lamont Richey Sr. told The News: "He murdered my son and all they can do is lock him up for a suspended license? It's a slap on the wrist."

June 3rd -- 1 dead & family of Chelsea murderer speaks out...

Joseph Cesario, a 66-year-old white male, was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver Sunday in the New Springfield section of Staten Island, according to a brief in the NY Post and a story in the Staten Island Advance.

Andrew Douglas, the 29-year-old driver of the of the 2008 BMW that struck Cesario, stopped at the scene where police allegedly found him with bloodshot eyes and alcohol on his breath, sources told the Post. He was arrested and charged with second degree manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.  

Neighbors said Cesario was a kindly butcher who had just moved to the borough from Queens about a year earlier. He died at Staten Island University Hospital North from massive internal injuries, according to the stories.

A neighbor of Cesario's told the Advance: "You had to be going pretty damn fast not to see a person."

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The family of Jonathan Smith, who killed his longtime girlfriend Margaux Powers in their Chelsea apartment before taking his own life, released a statement to the Daily News yesterday expressing sorrow for what their son had done.

Jonathan's brother Baldwin told the News: "Our deepest sorrow goes out to the Powers family; [we] just feel terrible for them."

The Smith and Powers families were especially close and grew up in the same tony circles on Long Island. "W're doing our best," said Baldwin. "They have a wonderful family and she was a wonderful girl."

The Post weighed in with a story that claimed that Smith, until recently a chef at Cafe Society, was fired for being chronically drunk and degrading to his female co-workers. An old friend is also quoted as saying Smith was a good guy who must have snapped.

Reportedly, Powers was fed up with Smith's drinking and mood swings and had told him she was breaking up with him and asked him to move out just before she was murdered. Her sister later found her body in the apartment bathtub.

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Meanwhile, the Daily News has a story in which Rev. Al Shapton calls for a high-profile community summit to address black-on-black violence. Sharpton told the News: "Shootings and violence within our community by one of our own is an outrage and an issue that we must confront as diligently and as passionately as a sensational case of police misconduct or brutality."

According to my statistics, blacks represent at least half of the murder victims in the city this year even though they are only about one-quarter of the city's overall population.

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Please watch a new episode of "48 Hours Mystery" on CBS TONIGHT at 9 p.m. eastern time...produced by me!! Read the great review in today's NY Post -- 3 out of 4 stars!!

May 22nd -- 1 dead, Staten Island liquor store owner...

Elgudzha Koyenishvili, a 67-year-old Russian immigrant, was shot to death last night by a thief who robbed Koyenishvili's liquor store of its cash register, according to a brief in the Daily News and a story in the Staten Island Advance.

The murder happened just after 8 p.m. when the gunman ran into the store -- Discount Wines & Liquors at 118 Lincoln Avenue -- shot Koyenishvili, grabbed the store register, and ran off. Witnesses say he later jumped into a blue truck parked nearby, according to the Advance story. The gunman was described as a white man, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

An eyewitness told the Advance: "I saw the guy pacing in the street, and he just kept watching the store. Finally, he just ran in."

It was the second murder of an immigrant running a small business in the past week. Last Thursday, Kyung-Sook Woo, a 63-year-old Asian female, was shot to death in her dry cleaning business in the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn. An arrest was made in that case.

May 13th -- 3 dead, including mom killed in front of baby boy...

Aisha Bristol, a 27-year-old black woman, was murdered yesterday as she strapped her 1-year-old baby son into his car seat at the corner of Hart Street and Lewis Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, according to stories in the Daily News, Post, and NY Times.

Bristol was slashed across the throat, allegedly by her personal trainer who reportedly later called the police and confessed, according to the newspapers. The two had met at a gym about a year ago and had a troubled relationship, according to those who knew them. Bristol worked for the Transportation Security Administration, and was also a student at Medgar Evans College.

Her brother had been shot in the head and killed three years ago in Washinton DC, prompting her uncle to tell The News: "This is horrible."

UPDATE: Percy Bailey, 46, of Queens, was charged with Bristol's murder. He was listed in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital where he was taken after swallowing poison while making a 911 call allegedly confessing to the murder.

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Louis Antonelli, a 43-year-old white male, died over the weekend after he was shot twice in the chest last month in what appeared to be a jewelry store robbed. Police now believe Antonelli was the target of an ambush ordered by organized crime, according to a story in the NY Post.

Antonelli had been on a respirator and reportedly never was able to talk about the April 29 shooting. At the time, he had just removed $260,000 worth of gems from a storage area and was placing them in his SUV when he was attacked by two men wearing gray hoodies. The shooters did not touch any of the jewelry or the cash in his wallet.

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Andre Lewis, a 22-year-old black male, died yesterday at Mary Immaculate Hospital from stab wounds he suffered over the weekend, according to a brief in the Daily News. James McGee, 20, was charged with manslaughter in the stabbing that occurred Saturday in South Jamaica, Queens.

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April 21st -- 1 dead on Staten Island...

The body of an unidentified Latino male, believed to be in his 30s or 40s, was found wrapped in a plastic bag on Houseman Avenue in Staten Island, according to a story in the Daily News.

The body, not far from Mariners Harbor, in a quiet residential area, was discovered in a dark-colored bay by a local resident, the newspaper reported.

One look into the bag and she ran off screaming, according to a witness. The woman then immediately called the police. The city medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

March 13th -- 3 dead (two declared homicides from old cases)...

Alexander James, a 22-year-old Latino male was stabbed to death early yesterday morning on Father Capodanno Boulevard near Ocean Avenue in the South Beach section of Staten Island, according to a brief in the NY Post's NYPD Blotter. The man was seen staggering down the street and managed to get himself into an elevator and up to the 5th floor where he collapsed and died. Police sources told the Post that the killing seemed to be drug related. The Staten Island Advance reports Alexander had six $100 bills in his pocket when he died.

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Police have declared Reyna de los Santos, a Latina female missing since last June, to be a homicide victim after bones found in a suitcase in Forest Park, Queens, last week were identified as her remains, according to a brief in the Daily News. The suitcase was found on March 4th by children playing in the park, police said.

Police yesterday picked up Reyna's husband Edwin Fuentes at his workplace and began questioning him about his wife's disappearance. No charges were filed against him as of today. While only a brief in the News, the story has received extensive coverage in Newsday, the Queens Chronicle, and the Times Ledger.

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Meanwhile police in Queens did filed homicide charges against a Queens couple whose 2-month-old baby daughter Annie Li died last October 22d, according to a small item in the Daily News. Hang Bin Li, 23, and his wife Ying Li, 22, face a variety of charges including manslaughter and child endangerment. Police say their investigation led them to conclude that the couple had violently shaken their baby resulting in her death. Hang Bin Li initially told police that he had accidentally bumped his child's head on a bedside table. The couple waited hours before calling 911 and by the time the infant was taken to the hospital, it was too late. She was declared brain dead four days later.

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Winston Moseley, who killed Kitty Genovese 44 years ago this week in one of NYC's touchstone murders, had his parole bid rejected for the 13th time yesterday by the state's Parole Board, according to a story in the Daily News. The board said the release of the now 72-year-old Moseley would be "incompatiable" with the welface and safety of the commuity.

March 9th -- 3 dead...

Antonio Rodriguez, a 45-year-old Latino male, was slashed in the neck and then set on fire yesterday in a first-floor apartment at 1255 Adee Avenue in the Eastchester Houses in the Bronx, according to a story in the NY Post. The victim managed to stumble out of the apartment into the hallway where he was discovered by firefighters who'd been called to fight the blaze. One resident told The Post that she felt the murder was "creepy."

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Kenneth Lewis, a 36-year-old black male described by the Daily News as "an ex-con," was found stabbed on Pine Street in the New Brighton section of Staten Island yesterday, according to a brief story in the Daily News. Richard Anderson, who lives on the street, came upon Lewis around 7 a.m. as the dying man lay on the sidewalk. Anderson told The News: "I saw this dude lying sideways..I asked him what happened and he said, 'I'm bleeding' and he lifted up his shirt and I saw a blood spot on his stomach."

Anderson called 911 and Lewis was taken to Richmond County Hospital where he later died. Anderson told The News that he asked Lewis who had stabbed him but "he gave me no clear response. He was just breathing heavily."

The Staten Island Advance had the most complete story on Lewis' murder and an interview with the dead man's mother Karen Walker (photo left) who said her son had put his troubles behind him and was a well-liked used car dealer. Lewis' pregnant younger sister, Kiana Walker, told the Advance: "He's in my heart. I'm going to name my son after him."   

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An unidentified 21-year-old Latino male was found stabbed in the torso at 145-36 Avenue in Queens, according to police.  The man was taken to Booth Memorial Hospital where he died of his injuries. The investigation is ongoing. No arrests...yet.