Connecticut ‘Cannibal Killer' granted conditional release decade after eating homeless victim's eye, brain
A confessed killer institutionalized after murdering a homeless man and eating parts of his body in a Connecticut cemetery could soon be walking among us once again — and local politicians are none too happy about it.
Tyree Smith, dubbed the 'Cannibal Killer' by local journalists, was granted a 'conditional release' Friday by the Nutmeg State's Psychiatric Security Review Board — meaning he'll be allowed to leave Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown for supervised jaunts, WFSB reported.
The decision was made after doctors who've been treating Smith said he's been fully rehabilitated, thanks to medications that quelled the voices in his head.
'To quote the director there, he is a joy. He is considered a support to the other people there,' forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caren Teitelbaum said.
'Once he was stable, he was a really calming presence for other patients.'
However, Republican state Sen. Paul Cicarella said he doesn't buy it — and that Smith should not be allowed out into the community.
'Murder and cannibalism and release in the same sentence … that's a problem,' he said in a statement to WFSB. 'That's concerning to me.'
In 2013, Smith was committed to Connecticut Valley Hospital for 60 years, after a three-judge panel found him not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2011 killing and cannibalization of Angel Gonzalez, 43.
Smith admitted to killing Gonzalez — who was homeless — with an ax inside an abandoned home in Bridgeport before removing parts of his brain, one of his eyeballs and several organs.
He then consumed the body parts at Lakeview Cemetery, washing them down with sake.
Gonzalez's sister-in-law, Talitha Frazier, spoke during Friday's hearing and urged the board to keep Smith inside the hospital.
'How do we really know he's not going to do this again?' Frazier asked, according to CTPost. 'He had no remorse for killing Angel.'
Smith, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic, will first receive day passes but will be confined to the hospital's grounds. As he continues to make progress, he'll receive more privileges, like supervised off-site visits.
Connecticut politicians, like Cicarella and State Sens. Henry Martin, Heather Somers, and Stephen Harding said they fear Smith could pose a public threat should he stop taking his medications.
'This terrible decision puts public safety in jeopardy and is yet another terrible message to send to CT violent crime victims and their families. This person should never be out,' they said in a statement.
'We are dumbfounded at this injustice. In what universe is this OK?'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Virginia man convicted in 2023 ambush, murder of NJ councilwoman
A man accused of ambushing and killing New Jersey councilwoman and evangelical minister Eunice Dwumfour was found guilty Monday of her murder. Rashid Ali Bynum, 30, was convicted by a jury of nine men and three women after five hours of deliberation Friday and another hour and 15 minutes on Monday morning, the Newark Star Ledger reported. Dwumfour's husband and other family members wept at the verdict. The Newark-born and raised Dwumfour, 30, a Republican serving her first term on the Sayreville Council, had just dropped off a roommate after coming home from Walmart the night she was shot. She went to park while he brought the groceries into their rented home at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex. At 7:22 p.m. she was shot 14 times while sitting in her car. The car rolled downhill about 100 feet and smashed into two parked cars. Surveillance footage later surfaced of a mysterious figure fleeing the scene, corroborating neighbors' descriptions. Dwumfour had beaten a Democratic incumbent in 2021 to become the town's first Black elected official. She was also a staple in the community for her work in the church. She lived at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex with her preteen daughter and two roommates. Just a few months earlier she had a fellow pastor of her Nigeria-based church, the prosperity gospel group Champions Royal Assembly. Husband Peter Ezechukwu was due to arrive from Nigeria that spring. Police finally caught up with and arrested Bynum, a former church associate of Dwumfour's, in August 2023. He was indicted on murder and weapons charges the same month and denied bail. Bynum's attorney, Michael Ashley, told reporters after the verdict 'there was no direct evidence' his client had pulled the trigger, and that Bynum 'almost certainly' planned to appeal. He's scheduled for sentencing in August and faces 30 years to life in prison. With News Wire Services
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Country singer Conner Smith strikes and kills pedestrian, 77, in alleged crash, police say
Country singer Conner Smith strikes and kills pedestrian, 77, in alleged crash, police say Show Caption Hide Caption Garth Brooks publicly denies recent sexual assault claims Country music star Garth Brooks has vehemently denied recent sexual assault allegations made against him by a former hairstylist and makeup artist. unbranded - Entertainment Police say country music singer Conner Smith, 24, was driving a pickup truck that struck and killed a pedestrian in Nashville. Dorothy Dobbins, 77, was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when she was struck. Police say a preliminary investigation indicates Smith's failure to yield was a contributing factor, but he showed no signs of impairment. Country music performer Conner Smith was the driver in a fatal crash involving a pedestrian in Nashville Sunday evening, police said. Dorothy Dobbins, 77, was crossing the street at a crosswalk when she was struck. "The preliminary investigation indicates that a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, driven by Conner Smith, 24, was traveling north on 3rd Avenue North as Dobbins was crossing the roadway," the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a news release. Police said Dobbins appeared to be "inside a marked crosswalk when she was struck around 7:30 p.m." on June 8. Police added the crash's preliminary contributing factor "appears to be Smith failing to yield the right of way to the pedestrian." Smith "showed no signs of impairment. There are no charges at present as the investigation continues." Dobbins, "who lived nearby, was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died," the news release said. Smith's attorney, Worrick G. Robinson, issued a statement to The Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network: "Mr. Smith was involved in a car accident that tragically claimed a life. His heart goes out to Ms. Dobbins' family during this incredibly difficult time. Mr. Smith continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation." Conner Smith's music career included viral TikTok fame Nashville-born Smith is signed to Big Machine's The Valory Music Co. label. He's been affiliated with the imprint since October 2019. In late 2021, Smith released "I Hate Alabama," which became a viral TikTok favorite. He's released two EPs and a debut album, "Smoky Mountains," in January 2024. That recording contained a gold-selling top-20 radio hit, "Creek Will Rise." Smith was nominated for new male artist of the year at the 2024 ACM Awards and was slated to be a special guest on dates of Luke Bryan's 2025 Country Song Came On Tour. The fatal incident occurred on the final day of 2025's CMA Fest. There, a day prior, he'd made a 1:30 p.m. appearance on the Chevy Riverfront Stage. Days before that, he was a guest at the Folds of Honor military charity softball game at Nashville's First Horizon Park.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr sacks entire US vaccine committee
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, has removed all 17 members of a committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations. Announcing the move in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy said that conflicts of interest on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) were responsible for undermining trust in vaccinations. Kennedy said he wanted to "ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible." Doctors and health experts have criticised Kennedy's longstanding questioning of the safety and efficacy of a number of vaccines, although in his Senate confirmation hearing he said he is "not going to take them away." On Monday he said he was "retiring" all of the Acip panel members. Eight of the 17 panellists were appointed in January 2025, in the last days of President Biden's term. Most of the members are practicing doctors and experts attached to major university medical centres. Kennedy noted that if he did not remove the committee members, President Trump would not have been able to appoint a majority on the panel until 2028. "The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine," Kennedy wrote. He claimed that health authorities and drug companies were responsible for a "crisis of public trust" that some try to explain "by blaming misinformation or antiscience attitudes." In the editorial, Kennedy cited examples from the 1990s and 2000s and alleged that conflicts of interest persist. "Most of ACIP's members have received substantial funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those marketing vaccines," he wrote in the Wall Street Journal. The move appears contrary to assurances Kennedy gave during his confirmation hearings. Bill Cassidy, a Republican Senator from Louisiana who is also a doctor, reported that he received commitments from the health secretary that Acip would be maintained "without changes." On Monday, Cassidy wrote on X: "Of course, now the fear is that the Acip will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion. "I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case." Acip members are required to disclose conflicts of interest, which are posted online, and to recuse themselves from voting on decisions where they may have a conflict. "The problem isn't necessarily that ACIP members are corrupt," Kennedy wrote. "Most likely aim to serve the public interest as they understand it. "The problem is their immersion in a system of industry-aligned incentives and paradigms that enforce a narrow pro-industry orthodoxy." Dr Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, a professional organisation for American doctors, said mass sacking "upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives." "With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses," Dr Scott said in a statement. Kennedy did not say who he would appoint to replace the board members. Acip has a meeting scheduled starting 25 June, at which members are scheduled to vote on recommendations for vaccines for Covid, flu, meningococcal disease, RSV and other illnesses. The BBC contacted the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Acip chair, Dr Helen Keipp Talbot, for comment. Fact-checking RFK Jr's views on health policy The two faces of Robert F Kennedy Jr
