News / International
Man kills four women he met online
28 Feb 2014 at 20:12hrs | Views
Mount Clemens - A jury on Friday convicted a man of killing four women who went to his home after connecting through online escort ads.
Police said James Brown killed the women in pairs, just days apart, at his home in December 2011. The bodies were stuffed in car trunks and left kilometres away in a Detroit neighbourhood. Two were burned beyond recognition.
Brown, 25, was convicted of first-degree murder after a three-week trial in Macomb County court. He faces life in prison with no chance for parole.
"He did it because he enjoyed it. He did it because he got some thrill out of it," assistant prosecutor Therese Tobin said in her closing remarks.
Authorities found Brown's DNA under the nails of two victims and tiny drops of blood from another were on a pillow and a door in his basement. He made incriminating statements to police about getting rid of the bodies, although he denied any role in their deaths.
The victims met Brown through Backpage.com, which carries personal ads for people looking for sex.
Doctors who performed autopsies believe the women were asphyxiated by Brown, who is 2m tall and weighs 154kg, but they couldn't declare an exact cause of death. Defence attorney Jeff Cojocar repeatedly made that point to the jury.
"Nobody knows" what happened in the basement, Cojocar said.
The women were Renisha Landers, Demesha Hunt, Natasha Curtis and Vernithea McCrary, all in their 20s.
Police said James Brown killed the women in pairs, just days apart, at his home in December 2011. The bodies were stuffed in car trunks and left kilometres away in a Detroit neighbourhood. Two were burned beyond recognition.
Brown, 25, was convicted of first-degree murder after a three-week trial in Macomb County court. He faces life in prison with no chance for parole.
"He did it because he enjoyed it. He did it because he got some thrill out of it," assistant prosecutor Therese Tobin said in her closing remarks.
Authorities found Brown's DNA under the nails of two victims and tiny drops of blood from another were on a pillow and a door in his basement. He made incriminating statements to police about getting rid of the bodies, although he denied any role in their deaths.
The victims met Brown through Backpage.com, which carries personal ads for people looking for sex.
Doctors who performed autopsies believe the women were asphyxiated by Brown, who is 2m tall and weighs 154kg, but they couldn't declare an exact cause of death. Defence attorney Jeff Cojocar repeatedly made that point to the jury.
"Nobody knows" what happened in the basement, Cojocar said.
The women were Renisha Landers, Demesha Hunt, Natasha Curtis and Vernithea McCrary, all in their 20s.
Source - AFP
