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New York Post
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Man convicted in 1999 killing of 8-year-old boy and mother in Connecticut released under Biden-clemency order
A man convicted in connection with the heartless murder of an 8-year-old boy and his mother in Bridgeport, Conn., has been released from prison after being granted clemency by former President Joe Biden. Adrian Peeler, 49, conspired with his brother Russell Peeler Jr. to shoot and kill 8-year-old Leroy 'B.J.' Brown and his mother Karen Clarke in 1999 and was sentenced to a combined 60 years in state and federal prison. 4 Adrian Peeler, now 49, was convicted for his role in the killing of 8-year-old Leroy 'BJ' Brown and his mother Karen Clarke in their Bridgeport apartment building to prevent them from testifying against his drug-dealing brother. Advertisement After completing his state sentence in January 2022, Peeler was granted clemency by the outgoing Biden administration for his 35-year federal sentence on separate drug charges, which would have had him wearing prison stripes until at least 2033, NBC Connecticut reported. The release has shocked state lawmakers, including liberal Democrat and Biden supporter Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was Connecticut's attorney general at the time of the ghastly crime. 'It seems to me that someone dropped the ball here to let this person get released,' Blumenthal said in a statement, the CT Post reported. Advertisement 'This was a really vicious murder that changed our laws. It also highlights how we need to take a look at the pardon system to see how it can be improved,' the senator added. 4 Even political allies have called out former President Biden's pardon of Peeler as a miscarriage of justice. AP Little BJ and Clarke, his mother, were slated to testify against Peeler's drug-dealing brother, who was on trial for killing Clarke's boyfriend Rudolf Snead, a fellow drug dealer, according to the Hartford Courant. BJ was prepared to testify that he was in the car when Russell Peeler Jr. shot Snead in a drive-by shooting in 1997. Advertisement But before that could happen, the Peeler brothers ambushed the mother and son at their Bridgeport apartment – shooting the boy to death at the top of the stairs and leaving his mother in a pool of blood in the bedroom where she attempted to call for help. 4 Leroy 'BJ' Brown was in the car when Russell Peeler Jr. shot his mother's boyfriend in a 1997 drive-by shooting. WFSB Both Peelers were charged by the state with capital felony and murder. Despite Adrian Peeler being the alleged shooter, a jury convicted him only of murder conspiracy, NBC Connecticut reported. Advertisement The horrific slayings inspired the Nutmeg State to create its own witness protection program. 4 Karen Clarke was gunned down in her bedroom as she attempted to call for help for her dying son. WFSB The family of Clarke and BJ was apoplectic when Peelers' release was announced. 'We've been blindsided. Where is the justice for my family?' Oswald Clarke, Karen's brother, told the CT Examiner. 'It's like we are hearing of BJ and Karen's deaths all over again — but this time their killer is going free.' Peeler previously sought to have his sentence reduced under 2018's First Step Act, but was excoriated by a judge in 2021 for lacking remorse. 'I take full responsibility for all my actions that led me to be here today,' Peeler told Judge Janet Bond Arterton during a 2021 hearing. 'I sold drugs to the community… It is something I think of every day,' he said. Advertisement Judge Arterton called the convicted conspirator out for failing to address the killings. 'Shockingly missing was an expression of remorse or apology to the families of Miss Clarke and B.J.,' the judge said. 'He didn't turn around to face them and simply say, 'I'm sorry.''
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
He Killed a Reggae Star's Daughter Feet Away from Her Child. Then Came the Judge's Haunting Words
Brianna McKoy and Derrick Francis were arguing when he fatally shot her in 2023, authorities said McKoy, 23, was the mother of Francis' son Zander, who was 18 months old when his mother was killed A national manhunt was launched for Francis after he fled the sceneA New York man convicted of killing the mother of his son in front of their child when he was just 18 months old has learned his fate. On Thursday, June 5, Derrick Francis, 43, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of Brianna McKoy, 23, in Bridgeport, Conn., on April 6, 2023, online court records show. On April 25, a three-judge panel of the Connecticut Superior Court convicted Francis of the shooting death of McKoy in the apartment they shared in the city's North End, said Joseph Corradino, the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Bridgeport, in a release. 'In coming to their verdict, the judges found that Francis had failed to prove his affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance,' the State's Attorney said in the release. McKoy was the daughter of Jamaican reggae star Ricky Trooper, who has written about his daughter's murder on Instagram. 'Hate the 6th of April,' he wrote on April 5. 'That day the fassy took my baby away from us.2 years now and the pain only get worst (sic).' McKoy's family has been seeking justice for her since the fatal shooting. "Today we finally got that justice and it's been a long time coming," her mother, Camille Hemmings, told News 12. On the day McKoy was killed, she and Francis were arguing at their apartment when he shot her four times with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, police said, News 12 reports. During closing arguments in Francis's trial, defense attorney Gerald Klein said Francis had "reached a breaking point" during his relationship with McKoy and called the homicide "a crime of passion,' the CT Post argued that Francis had initially said in one of his police interviews that he had to wrest the gun from McKoy, the CT Post reports. Later on, Francis said he found the gun in a drawer while looking for money he thought McKoy had allegedly taken, Corradino argued, according to the CT Post. Their son Zander was only 'a few feet away" when Francis fired the gun at McKoy, police said, according to News 12. "Baby Zander has not spoken a single word since that day,' Hemmings told News 12. 'He goes to therapy on a regular basis now to restore his speech." After the shooting, Francis fled the scene, setting off a national manhunt, according to the State's Attorney. Francis fled to Ohio, but was apprehended two days later when officers stopped a car he was riding in because they had an arrest warrant for the driver, the State's Attorney said. Francis ran from the officers during the traffic stop, but was captured after a short chase. Ohio officers recovered a gun under the vehicle's passenger seat that the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory determined was consistent with having fired the cartridge cases recovered from the crime scene, according to the State's Attorney. In a GoFundMe set up for Zander, the organizer wrote, "Camille Prince's daughter lost her life due to domestic violence." Hemmings told News 12 nothing can take away the pain of losing her daughter, but she is glad that her killer will serve out the next five decades behind bars. "He finally got what he deserved — 55 years. He will hopefully die in prison a lonely and miserable death," Hemmings told News 12. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
Fox News
23-02-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Connecticut cannibal killer given conditional release after 2011 murder in which he ate victim's brain, eye
An institutionalized man who confessed to the 2011 killing of a homeless man in Connecticut in which he also ate the victim's body parts in a cemetery was granted a conditional release. Tyree Smith was granted a conditional release by the Nutmeg State's Psychiatric Security Review Board on Friday, allowing him to leave Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown, although he will remain under supervision and will continue to receive mental health services, according to WFSB. Smith's doctor said the cannibal killer has been rehabilitated and is taking medications to help with psychosis and voices in his head, the outlet reported. "To quote the director there, he is a joy. He is considered a support to the other people there," forensic psychiatrist Caren Teitelbaum said. "Once he was stable, he was a really calming presence for other patients." "He has maintained clinical stability. Adhered to the medications and continued to engage in group and substance abuse treatment," Teitelbaum added. "He also denied visual hallucinations and a desire to harm others or himself." But others, including GOP state Sen. Paul Cicarella, contested that Smith should remain under close watch in a hospital. "Murder and cannibalism and release in the same sentence. That's a problem. That's concerning to me," he told WFSB. Cicarella and fellow Republican state Sens. Henry Martin, Heather Somers and Stephen Harding called the decision "outrageous" and "mind-boggling." "This individual killed and ate part of his victim and was found not guilty by reason of insanity," the lawmakers said in a statement. "His victim's family raised objections about his release. What about THEM? Where is the justice for THEM? 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. We are dumbfounded at this injustice. In what universe is this ok?" In 2013, a three-judge panel found Smith not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2011 death of Angel Gonzalez. He was committed to Connecticut Valley Hospital for 60 years. Smith confessed to killing the homeless man with an ax inside an abandoned home in Bridgeport before removing parts of his brain, an eye and several organs that he subsequently consumed at Lakeview Cemetery. Gonzalez's sister-in-law, Talitha Frazier, called on the board to continue holding Smith inside the hospital. "How do we really know he's not going to do this again?" Frazier asked at the hearing on Friday, according to CTPost. "He had no remorse for killing Angel." "His grandkids are scared. His daughter is scared she couldn't come today, her sugar dropped to 52," she said, according to WFSB. A diagnosed schizophrenic, Smith will first receive day passes but will be confined to the hospital's grounds. As he makes progress, he will receive additional freedoms, such as supervised off-site visits.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
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?'
Fox News
13-02-2025
- Fox News
Ex-UConn basketball player, 28, charged with murdering mother
A former college basketball player has been arrested in Florida and charged with the murder of his 51-year-old mother, who was found wrapped in a blanket in the backyard of a Jacksonville home, police said Tuesday. Eric Christopher Cobb, 28, was arrested and booked into the Duval County Jail and is facing one count of murder in the second degree after police say he was caught attempting to flee a home where his mother appeared to have been fatally shot. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it responded to a "disturbing scene" in the Mid-Westside area on Monday where they discovered Erika Winford "unresponsive, wrapped in a blanket and towels in the backyard" of the residence. Law enforcement said Winford appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. Cobb was arrested shortly after while attempting to flee the home, the sheriff's office said. According to the CT Post, neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots and a woman screaming on the previous night. The following day, a friend of the victim came to the home to check on her after not being able to get in contact with her. When she arrived at the home, she found large areas of blood outside the home and what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket. "Your JSO will work closely with the State Attorney's Office to seek justice for Ms. Winford's family in the wake of this tragic crime," law enforcement said in a news release. Cobb played basketball at the University of Connecticut from 2017-2019. In his junior year, he had five starts in 15 games, averaging 1.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. The following year, he appeared in 32 games, averaging 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. He previously played one season at South Carolina where he appeared in 24 games and averaged 1.1 points and 1.9 rebounds. According to online records, Cobb remains in custody awaiting trial. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
