Family member of Queens murder victims charged in their deaths: Police

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Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Relative of Queens triple murder victims is in custody, police say
Police say the relative of the three women who were killed in Queens was in Virginia police custody and is now in the process of being extradited back to NY.

SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, Queens (WABC) -- The 22-year-old family member of three Queens murder victims has been charged in their deaths.

Police say Jabari Burrell detailed how he killed his relatives, before stealing their 2004 Toyota Sienna and fleeing to Virginia.

Note: The video above is from previous coverage.

Burrell was allegedly covered in blood when Virginia law enforcement took him into custody for driving a stolen car. While he was in custody, he waved his Miranda rights, police said.

On the morning of Nov. 18, a home health aide found 65-year-old Hyacinth Brown-Johnson, her daughter, 47-year-old Latoya Gordon, and her bedridden 26-year-old stepdaughter, Patrice Johnson, dead in their home.

Police say two of the victims were stabbed to death and one died from severe head trauma. A man who was living in the house, located at 146-39 182nd Street in Jamaica, was unharmed.

The health aide's brother, Ian Taylor, told Eyewitness News that the women were like family to them.

"My sister worked with that little girl for almost 10 years," Taylor said. "Take care of that little girl. She couldn't speak, she couldn't walk, nothing. And they are such nice persons. I can't really believe this happened to them."

Burrell is charged with three counts of murder in the first degree, three counts of murder in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Burrell awaits extradition back to NYC. Police have not yet revealed a motive for the killings.

Eyewitness News is tracking crime and safety across New York City and in your neighborhood

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