Duo charged with murder in killings of couple whose remains were found scattered on Long Island
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Two people were charged Monday with murder in the killing of a couple whose remains were found scattered across Long Island earlier this year.
Jeffrey Mackey, 39, and Alexis Nieves, 33, pleaded not guilty to the murders of Malcolm Brown and Donna Conneely of Yonkers during their arraignment in state court in Riverhead.
Mackey, Nieves and two other people were previously charged with concealing a human corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the discovery of body parts at Long Island parks in late February and early March.
Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Frank Schroeder said in court that Mackey stabbed Brown and Conneely to death and that Nieves hit one of them with a meat tenderizer after a dispute over a previous armed robbery.
“Although the case involves the dismembering of the bodies of two people, the barbarity of those acts was surpassed only by the brutality of the murders themselves,” Schroeder said, according to Newsday.
Mackey and Nieves were arrested along with Steven Brown and Amanda Wallace after police executed a search warrant at the Amityville home that Wallace, Mackey and Brown share.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Conneely and Malcolm Brown, a cousin of Steven Brown, took part in planning the Feb. 20 knifepoint robbery of a gas station, which apparently sparked the fatal dispute.
Tierney said at a news conference that Conneely and Malcolm Brown were killed on February 27.
Steven Brown and Wallace have not been charged in the murders, but they still face other charges, including hindering prosecution and concealing a human corpse. They will be arraigned on Tuesday.
Christopher Gioe, an attorney for Nieves, said she maintains her innocence. Mackey’s attorney, John Halverson, said via email that he would fight the charges.
Keith O’Halloran, an attorney for Wallace, said he was pleased his client has not been charged in the killings and that he looks forward to defending her against the charges she faces.
A message seeking comment was sent to Steven Brown’s attorney.