2 suspects in Long Island body parts case now charged with murder as more gruesome details revealed
RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- Two people were indicted on murder charges in the death of a man and a woman whose remains were discovered in Babylon and Bethpage earlier this year.
For the first time, prosecutors detailed how they believe a homeless couple brutally stabbed and beat to death a couple from Yonkers at a home in Amityville home and tried to hide the remains.
A grand jury indicted 38-year-old Jeffrey Mackey and 33-year-old Alexis Nieves on second degree murder charges. They were arraigned on the indictment Monday morning in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead where both pleaded not guilty.
Mackey and Nieves were two of four people initially charged with felony counts of first-degree hindering prosecution, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence. The four were initially released without bail, as they were not charged with bail eligible offenses, prompting outrage from the law enforcement community.
Further investigation resulted in the upgraded charges against Mackey and Nieves in the deaths of 53-year-old Malcolm Brown and 59-year-old Donna Conneely. Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney says drugs were used by both the defendants and the victims.
Prosecutors say Mackey is responsible for killing both victims. They say Mackey turned the stabbed woman over to Nieves who allegedly struck her with a meat tenderizer before kicking and stabbing her.
Their remains were found in a park in Babylon, in Bethpage State Park and in wooded area in West Babylon.
Charges were not upgraded against 44-year-old Steven Brown, who family members said is a cousin of Malcolm Brown, and Amanda Wallace. She was later held without bail after being arrested for shoplifting days after the initial arrests.
The four were initially charged with using "sharp instruments" to dismember and destroy the victims' body parts, which were then "concealed at multiple known locations."
Meat cleavers, butcher knives, significant amounts of blood and video surveillance were recovered, along with the body parts.
Both Mackey and Nieves' attorneys spoke out after the indictment. Mackey's attorney pointed the finger at some of the possible witnesses in the case -- the two other defendants.
"I believe that the prosecution's witnesses at this point, as I've stated at the arraignment, have unclean hands and that's going to be our position going forward," Mackey's attorney John Halverson said.
Nieves' attorney, Christopher Gioe, said his client says she is not guilty and she denies the charges.
Mackey is being held in jail on no bail and the judge set $1 million cash bail, $10 million bond for Nieves.
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