Two suspects have been arrested in a quadruple homicide in upstate New York that left a lesbian couple and their two children dead. And it turns out, one of them might have known one of the victims.
This past weekend, Justin Mann, 24, and James White, 38, were arraigned in Troy City Court after being arrested Friday night. Both men face four counts each of second-degree and one count each of first-degree murder (although each have entered ‘not guilty’ pleas). Their preliminary hearings will be held on Thursday.
As you recall, last week the bodies of 36-year-old Shanta Myers, her 22-year-old girlfriend Brandi Mells, their 5-year-old daughter Shanise Myers and 11-year-old son Jeremiah Myers were all discovered with their throats slashed.
Troy Police Chief James Tedesco told the Albany Times Union “After being in this business for almost 42 years, I can’t describe the savagery of this. I don’t have the words.”
Well, there’s some new information coming to light right now:
Police Chief Tedesco revealed at a press conference on Saturday morning that the crime appeared to have been committed around 9pm on December 21 – meaning the victims had been dead for nearly five days.
Additionally, it was revealed that one of the defendants was acquainted with one of the victims but further information could not be given ‘because the investigation is ongoing’.
According to The Daily Beast, Mells was friends with Mann, who has now been charged with killing her and her girlfriend’s family.
‘I never seen him before a day in my life, neither of them,’ Shanta Myers’s nephew, Khalif Coleman, told The Daily Beast. ‘But some of my family members recognize him as Brandi’s friend. He supposedly always hung out with her.’
Department of Corrections records show Mann was released on parole in June after being convicted of first-degree robbery in 2014. Chief Tedesco revealed that both men had criminal records but declined to comment on their previous charges.
Isiah Smith, 15, who was not home at the time and is the family’s sole survivor, spoke about the moment he found out, saying he
‘Couldn’t believe it. Heartbroken. I fell down to the ground right in the bathroom and cried thinking who would’ve done this?’ reported CBS6.
Isaiah fondly remembered his younger brother saying he followed him around everywhere. ‘It got to the point where I’d be in the bathroom and he’d be on the other side talking to me like ‘bro what are you about to do after this?’ and I’d be like ‘I don’t know!” he joked.
Apparently Jeremiah dreamed of playing for the Boston Celtics in the NBA one day and had also been a member of the Troy Boys & Girls Club for six years.
He was the quintessential ‘Club Kid’ who impacted the lives of so many staff, children and teens, parents and volunteers,’ the club said in a statement.
‘It will be deeply felt by all his friends at the club and throughout our community.’
His younger sister, Shanise, had a passion for cooking and apparently was wise beyond her years. ‘That girl was like a grown woman in a little body,’ her Uncle Khalif Coleman said. ‘You ain’t telling that girl what to do, she will be in your face.’
Her Aunt Symes said she was going to have the youngster cook spaghetti as part of their Christmas meal. She told Symes ‘Auntie I know how to make spaghetti.’
Omg, that’s so sad.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to provide for Isiah (it’s already gotten $48,000).
(via Daily Mail)
