February 2024 | Page 5 of 5 | My Crime Library

Tra Vontay Constantine Murders Father

Tra Vontay Constantine is an alleged seventeen year old teen killer who has been charged with the murder of his father and the attempted murder of his mother

According to police reports Tra Vontay Constantine was involved in an argument with his parents when he would grab his gun and shoot both of them with his father Leroy Constantine Jr dying from his injuries. Constantine mother is expected to survive her injuries

Tra Vontay Constantine would take off from the home following the double shooting however would later turn himself over to the local sheriffs office.

Tra Vontay Constantine has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and murder

Tra Vontay Constantine News

A 17-year-old is accused of shooting his parents, leaving his father dead and his mother seriously injured.

Tra Vontay Constantine was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the shooting that happened on Wednesday on Waller Street in the Deer Pines subdivision in Cut and Shoot, near Conroe

He faced a judge Thursday where we learned home surveillance video captured the entire incident. Prosecutors said Tra Vontay pointed a gun at his father, Leroy Constantine Jr., 41, and fired a shot. Prosecutors said the same bullet passed through him and hit his wife in the neck.

Investigators said Tra Vontay got into an argument with his parents because his father found his gun and took the ammunition. Prosecutors said Tra Vontay knew he had one bullet in his car so he got it, loaded his gun and shot at his father.

When first responders arrived on scene, they tried to save Leroy’s life, but he died. As for his wife, she was taken to a hospital where she is expected to survive.

“I think my heart goes out to the mother more than anyone,” a neighbor said. “Just trying to deal with, you never think about needing to forgive your child or something like that. What might’ve been going through his mind at the moment also.”

Neighbors said the family seemed to be close and it’s heartbreaking knowing what happened.

“It’s really hard,” a neighbor told us. “I can’t imagine what they are going through.”

Prosecutors said Tra Vontay had previously been on juvenile probation but was let off due to good behavior. It’s not clear how his age will factor into the charges.

Tra Vontay has asked for a court-appointed attorney and the case is expected to go to a grand jury.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/conroe-texas-crime-waller-street-deer-pines/285-70855a15-202a-4167-87bb-b9ec1d7ad4a5

Tra Vontay Constantine Other News

A 17-year-old is accused of shooting both of his parents and killing his father inside their Conroe home.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a home in the 9000 block of Waller Street at 9:20 p.m. Wednesday.

At the scene, deputies found a man and a woman shot. Despite life-saving efforts, Leroy Constantine Jr., 41, was pronounced dead.

First responders rushed the woman to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. She’s expected to survive.

Investigators learned that the victims got into a verbal argument with their 17-year-old son, which escalated to the suspect shooting them.

Although the teen, identified by deputies as Tra Vontay Constantine, initially left the scene, officials said he turned himself in at the MCSO shortly after. A video shows him walking into the sheriff’s office early Thursday morning.

ABC13 spoke to the victims’ daughter, who was home and forced to witness her father’s murder.

“My brother is not a bad person,” Breana Constantine said. “He has mental health issues. My mom and dad tried everything they possibly could with my brother.”

Breana said her parents were high school sweethearts with three children and two grandkids.

Tra is charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He’s being held on $250,000 bond.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends who are dealing with this tragedy,” Specialist Stephen Walker with MCSO said.

Walker said it’s unknown what the initial argument was about.

Detectives are still trying to determine where the gun came from because they said the parents didn’t own any.

Friends of the family have set up a GoFundMe.

https://abc13.com/17-year-old-arrested-man-found-dead-welfare-check-waller-street-montgomery-county-sheriffs-office-investigation/14399001/

David Shroitman Murders Maryrose Fealey

David Shroitman is an alleged killer from New Jersey who has been charged in the brutal murder of Maryrose Fealey

According to police reports David Shroitman had written out a very detailed plan where he would describe the brutal murder of former classmate Maryrose Fealey. David Shroitman would act out his plan and would stab the woman thirty seven times causing her death

David Shroitman would be arrested and has been charged with a host of charges including irst-degree murder, possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution

David Shroitman News

A New Jersey man was arrested this week on accusations he fatally stabbed an ex-classmate who advocated passionately to help those addicted to drugs.

On Monday, David Shroitman, 27, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and hindering apprehension in connection with the death of Maryrose Fealey, 27, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Fealey was found by officers who responded to a 911 call outside an apartment complex in Somerville on Jan. 30, the release states. Fealey, who suffered multiple stab wounds, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said she knew her alleged killer.

While authorities declined to share how the pair knew each other, Patch.com and MyCentralJersey.com reported that David Shroitman graduated from Somerville High School with Healey in 2014.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Patch.com, Fealey was stabbed approximately 37 times and had returned home from a business in Bridgewater around 9 p.m. that night, roughly an hour and a half before police arrived on the scene and found her dead at 10:20 p.m. The affidavit states that Fealey’s car door was open with her belongings spread across the front yard.

On Feb. 1, police obtained dashboard camera footage showing a man wearing a gray sweatshirt, a black face gaiter and thick cushioned sneakers standing at the corner of the block near Fealey’s home around 9 p.m. the night she was killed, per the affidavit obtained by Patch.com. The following day, detectives tried to speak with David Shroitman at a business in Bridgewater, but he refused. Detectives allegedly saw a white garbage bag over the driver’s seat of his car, as well as a black gaiter in the front passenger seat and duct tape in the back seat, the affidavit claims.

Authorities later obtained more surveillance footage showing a man matching David Shroitman’s description allegedly running up and down Fealey’s street around 9:02 p.m. the night of her killing, according to the affidavit, which was also obtained by NJ.com. A vehicle believed to be Shroitman’s was also spotted in the footage.

On Sunday, police responded to a report of a suspicious person at a business in Somerville and allegedly found Shroitman wearing latex gloves while cleaning his car, according to the affidavit. Officers claimed they smelled bleach in a puddle near the driver’s side door. Later, officers said they recovered a latex glove with apparent blood on Fealey’s street.

A search warrant was then granted and authorities searched Shroitman’s home, where they allege several bleach containers were recovered, along with a “manifesto laying out a plan step-by-step for the homicide,” the affidavit alleges. Investigators also allegedly detected blood in the entryway and bathroom through luminol spray tests and found clothing — some of which was covered in bleach — and sneakers matching the description of the man seen in the surveillance footage. The affidavit also alleges that Shroitman’s driver’s side car door was treated with bleach.

Shroitman was subsequently arrested and booked into the Somerset County Jail. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday and is still awaiting a detention hearing, MyCentralJersey.com reports.

According to her obituary, Fealey was “committed to her vision and efforts to empower youth and those battling addiction.” Founder of the non-profit organization 4TheYoungerMe (4TYM), she also was involved with non-profit organizations Not An Easy Fix and Empower Somerset.

“She firmly believed that ‘substance abuse does not define the person’ and that ‘a toxic environment does not define the child’s future,’” her obituary states.

Not An Easy Fix called Fealey’s death “horrific news” in a Feb. 1 statement posted to Facebook.

“She was always extremely supportive and had a big smile whenever she entered a room,” committee member Ian Bockus said in the post. “My friend group and I have dealt with a lot of loss over the years but never anything like this. It doesn’t make sense and it isn’t right but it’s times like this where we need to come together as a family and a community and offer our support.”

A 2018 graduate of Rutgers Business School, Fealey also worked as a logistics management specialist and was a former federal employee for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, according to her obituary.

Her family has asked for donations to go to Not An Easy Fix.

https://people.com/ex-classmate-allegedly-stabbed-beloved-addiction-recovery-advocate-detailed-plan-police-8559778

Jennifer Bowser Murders 5 Year Old Son

Jennifer Bowser is an alleged killer from Pennsylvania who has been charged with the murder of her five year old son

According to police reports officers were called to a residence with the report of an unconscious child. When the officers arrived they would find the body of a five year old who looked like he had been dead for hours

Jennifer Bowser would tell officers that the voices told her she had to kill her son or else he would go to hell so she smothered the child, Samson Bowser, causing his death

Jennifer Bowser was arrested and has been charged with one count each of general criminal homicide, aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury to a victim under age 13

Jennifer Bowser News

Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees has released the official cause of death for 5-year-old Samson Bowser, who authorities say was allegedly killed by his mother, Jennifer Bowser, on Monday afternoon.

Lees has ruled Bowser’s death as asphyxia due to “compression of the chest and obstruction of the airway.’

The coroner’s office has also formally ruled his death as a homicide.

Police say 41-year-old Jennifer Bowser was arraigned Monday night after her son was found unresponsive at Martha’s Manor, in Cresson Township, where she and her child were reportedly living.

Authorities say Bowser is accused of killing her son because “voices” told her to do so.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees identified the 5-year-old boy who was reportedly killed by his mother, 41-year-old Jennifer Bowser.

Lees said that when authorities arrived at Martha’s Manor, in Lilly, Monday afternoon, Samson Bowser had reportedly been dead for hours already.

Officials say an autopsy of the boy is scheduled for late Tuesday.

Authorities noted that Jennifer Bowser and her son had reportedly been living at the facility, for approximately one year, since the facility was owned by the child’s grandmother (Jennifer Bowser’s mother).

According to the criminal affidavit, police say Bowser had allegedly killed her son because “voices” told her to do so.

Authorities also noted that, according to her family, she had recently sought treatment at a mental health facility due to the so-called “voices.”

https://wjactv.com/news/local/lilly-woman-charged-with-homicide-claims-voices-led-her-to-strangle-her-5-year-old-son

Jennifer Bowser Other News

A Lilly woman is in jail after police said she claimed to have heard voices telling her to kill her 5-year-old son, Samson Bowser.

Jennifer Bowser, 41, is facing a criminal homicide charge after police and EMS were dispatched for a cardiac arrest of a five-year-old on the 100 block of Cosey Lane on Monday, Feb. 5.

Authorities arrived at Martha’s Manor where they found a woman giving CPR to the child. According to court documents, it was determined that the child was unable to be revived.

Police talked to Bowser’s sister, who said that Bowser and the child had been living at the residence for “awhile” with Bowser’s mother and that the last time she saw the victim alive was on Sunday, Feb. 4, according to the criminal complaint. She claimed that she went to check on the child on Feb. 5 and found him laying on the floor. She then moved him to a different room and began to perform CPR.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 6, it was noted that there was no history of calls to the manor in relation to Bowser or her child. District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said that while the two lived at the manor, they lived in a separate area away from the other residence.

Bowser’s mother told police that Bowser had been to the doctor on Jan. 30 because she had been “hearing voices,” according to the complaint. Her mother also told police that at the time, they did not have an official diagnosis for Bowser.

When questioned by police, Bowser claimed that she was hearing a voice from “a machine box or mic box” and that the voices allegedly told her to smother the child so that he didn’t go to “H E double hockey sticks.”

Bowser was then taken to the police station to talk more with the officers. During this conversation, she allegedly told police that on Sunday, Feb. 4 she went outside twice during the day to check the furnace and then would barricade herself back into her room with her child, according to the criminal complaint.

Bowser claimed that she barricaded herself with the 5-year-old because a female voice “Kayla” told her the child was hers, not Bowser’s, and was attempting to take the child from her. Later in the evening, Bowser allegedly heard the voices again, with them saying that “the cops were coming and were going to shoot through the wall and kill” the child if she didn’t smother him, the complaint reads.

Bowser claimed that the voices continued to get “meaner and meaner” and told her that there were “guys with guns looking in the windows and were going to shoot through the wall.” Bowser also allegedly told police that the voices said that it would be better to smother the five-year-old than to have him be shot, according to the complaint.

Bowser told police that she allegedly smothered the child by using her hands and a blanket. As she used the blanket to cover his face, she said the child was strong and kept hitting and biting her. According to the complaint, Bowser also attempted to break the child’s neck to kill him faster.

Neugebauer also said that while mental health is going to be a large part of the case, there are also a lot of privacy concerns when it comes to disclosing information.

“To say that this is a difficult case for law enforcement is an understatement. Many of us are parents and I think we all hugged our kids a little harder last night,” Neugebauer said.

Bowser is now facing a criminal homicide charge, a felony charge of aggravated assault of a victim less than 13 and a felony charge of strangulation.

She is in the Cambria County Prison after being denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.

Tuesday evening Cambria Coroner Jeff Lees concluded via autopsy that Samson’s death was ruled as a homicide as a result asphyxia due to compression of the chest and airway.

Cresson Township police department, Cresson Borough police department, Cambria County detective borough, Cambria Lions EMS, Keystone Alliance fire company and the DA’s office were on scene. Detective John Kutchman and Chief Mike Nycum assisted in the investigation.

https://www.wtaj.com/crime/police-woman-charged-with-sons-death-claims-voices-told-her-to-strangle-him/

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff Murders Yuping Jiao

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff is an alleged killer who was charged with the Utah murder of Yuping Jiao

According to police reports Yuping Jiao was working in a massage parlor in Midvale Utah when she was brutally beaten and stabbed more than fifty times. When Yuping Jiao loved ones could not reach her on the phone they would go to the massage parlor and discovered her body

With thanks to DNA officials were able to tie the brutal murder to a convicted felon, Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, and days later the US Marshals would arrest him back in California

Now Steven Chance Brinkerhoff is being extradited back to Utah where he faces charges of murder

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff News

A California man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a brutal attack at a Utah massage parlor that left one woman dead in early January and prompted police to warn employees in similar occupations to “exercise extreme caution.”

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, 39, is facing one count of first-degree felony murder for the death of 45-year-old Yuping Jiao, who was working alone in the spa when she was brutally attacked and stabbed approximately 56 times, according to an indictment.

Brinkerhoff, who was not a Utah resident, fled back to his home state of California, where he had an extensive criminal record, including possession of a dangerous weapon, assaulting a peace officer, fighting in public, drugs, possession of stolen property and a domestic violence violation.

According to the indictment, Jaio, who had immigrated to the U.S. from China, had been working at the A+ Massage in Midvale on Jan. 4. When Jaio’s brother could not get in touch with her, he went to the parlor to check on her and found her lifeless body in one of the massage rooms, riddled with stab wounds.

The Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner found 56 stab wounds total on Jiao’s body, as well as slice marks on her fingers, prick marks on her ankles, and a small chunk of skin that had been removed, according to documents.

Investigators sent evidence to a lab for testing, where a DNA profile connected Brinkerhoff to the case.

Video surveillance matched the description of Brinkerhoff, who only has one leg and was seen using a wheelchair to access the parlor at 12:30 p.m. and then leaving the building just before 2:30 p.m.

“Detectives were able to identify that cell phone data placed Brinkerhoff in the area of A+ Massage on the day of the incident,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “Additionally, Brinkerhoff had made contact via text messages with Jaio prior to the incident.”

After learning about Brinkerhoff’s involvement in the crime, officials enlisted the help of federal partners to take him into custody in California. He was arrested outside a California massage parlor on Jan. 19, two weeks after Jiao’s murder.

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, now considered a flight risk, is being held without bail while awaiting extradition to Utah.

https://www.courttv.com/news/one-legged-man-charged-in-brutal-murder-of-utah-massage-parlor-worker/

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff More News

On January 24, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF), in coordination with the USMS District of Utah Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, located and safely arrested a man wanted by the Salt Lake City Police Department for a murder committed on January 4, 2024.

Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, 39, was wanted in connection to a murder in Salt Lake City in which a female victim was stabbed multiple times in a massage parlor in the 7400 block of S. State Street.
PSWRFTF investigators determined Brinkerhoff fled to Las Vegas, and then to California. When investigators developed information that placed Brinkerhoff in the city of Orange, CA. PSWRFTF requested the assistance of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Investigators narrowed the search to the 2100 block of N. Tustin Street in Orange where they located and arrested Brinkerhoff inside a sandwich shop, then transported him to the Santa Ana Jail.

The PSWRFTF began operations in August 2002. The PSWRFTF has partnership agreements with more than nine federal and 57 state and local agencies and operates throughout California and Nevada.

The PSWRFTF has apprehended more than 102,000 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer.

The USMS District of Utah Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team began in 2015 and has three federal and 26 state and local partnerships that assist in the location and capture of dangerous fugitives.

https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/us-marshals-nab-ut-murder-suspect-ca-sandwich-shop

James Spencer Murders Sean Showers In Texas

James Spencer is an alleged killer from Texas who is charged with the murder of Sean Showers

According to police reports James Spencer was interacting with Sean Showers online which seems normal until you learn that Spencer was acting as a juvenile and Showers was a convicted sex offender. The two would come up with a place to meet

While Sean Showers was walking towards the meeting spot he was allegedly shot and killed by James Spencer.

The murder which took place back in May of 2023 would go unsolved until the arrest of James Spencer. Now Spencer has been charged with murder. Sean Showers had been convicted of child pornography and spent time in Federal Prison, he was also convicted of failing to register as a sex offender

James Spencer Case

A 22-year-old man has been charged after allegedly targeting a child predator and fatally shooting him last year.

On May 29, 2023, shortly before 4 a.m., the Houston Police Department responded to a report of an unresponsive man with multiple gunshot wounds in a ditch at 900 Northwood St. Houston Fire Department paramedics also went to the scene and pronounced the victim, later identified as 37-year-old Sean Showers, dead.

Police allege James Spencer fatally shot Showers from inside a vehicle while the victim was walking along a roadway. According to KPRC-TV, the suspect pretended to be a minor and planned to meet with Showers under the guise of a sexual arrangement.

KPRC reports that Spencer believed law enforcement officials weren’t doing enough to keep child predators in prison, and he wanted to take matters into his own hands and hurt them.

Officers arrested Spencer nearly nine months after the fatal shooting, on Wednesday, Jan. 31. He was booked into the Harris County Jail on a charge of murder and remains held on $250,000 bond. Spencer faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Prior to the shooting, Showers pleaded guilty in 2009 to possessing child pornography, according to the Houston Division of the FBI. The victim reportedly served time in federal prison, and he failed to register as a sex offender.

In a statement obtained by KPRC, Victim Services Director of Houston Crime Stoppers Andy Kahan said, “This was diabolically cunning.”

Kahan added, “When I look at this, I’m going, ‘This is the stuff you see in movies.'”

https://truecrimedaily.com/2024/02/02/houston-texas-james-spencer-murder-child-predator-sean-showers-shooting/

James Spencer More News

A Texas man is charged with murder after allegedly posing as a minor to meet and kill a convicted sex offender, according to authorities.

The Houston Police Department alleges that in May 2023, James Spencer III, 22, shot and killed victim Sean Connery Showers, 37.

Police claim Showers approached a vehicle in the early morning hours of May 29 and then was shot by the suspect, who at the time was unidentified. Upon further investigation, police arrested Spencer, who they claim admitted to the killing.

Showers was found in a ditch with multiple gunshot wounds, police say.

Citing authorities, Click 2 Houston and ABC 13 report that Spencer allegedly claimed to be a minor online, in an attempt to lure Showers under the guise of sex, who he believed was a sex offender.

Showers pleaded guilty to possessing child sex abuse material in 2009, federal authorities said at the time, ABC 13 reports. Showers was sentenced to 30 months in prison and then to two years in 2019 for failing to register as a sex offender, per the outlet.

In a press conference aired by ABC 13, prosecutor Rehaman Merchant said Spencer set up a meeting and knew exactly where Showers was going to be the night of the murder.

“Regardless of the likability of the victim, we’re a nation of laws,” Merchant said at the press conference. “So no one gets to be judge, jury and executioner depending on how they feel.”

It is not immediately clear if Spencer has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

https://people.com/man-allegedly-posed-as-minor-online-meet-child-predator-then-fatally-shot-him-8558143