Indictment in ax murder case
DA sentences Williamsburg man in brutal April attack of his ex-girlfriend
10 COURIER LIFE, MAY 24–30, 2019 PS
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
A Williamsburger faces up to
25 years to life behind bars for
allegedly brutally attacking
his girlfriend with an ax and
killing her pregnant friend
at a Flushing Avenue apartment,
District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez’s offi ce announced
on May 17.
Jerry Brown, 34, is charged
with second-degree murder,
second-degree attempted
murder, and fi rst-degree assault
for allegedly assaulting
his 21-year-old girlfriend and
slaying her friend Savannah
Rivera, 20, on April 20.
He allegedly attacked the
two women with an ax inside
his girlfriend’s eighthfl
oor apartment at Humboldt
Street, while her 4-year-old
daughter was in a nearby
room just before 1:30 a.m.,
which Gonzalez described as
a horrifying attack that has
scarred the local community.
“The brutality of this attack,
which claimed the life
of a pregnant mother and left
a second young mother fi ghting
for her life, is truly appalling.
These horrifying alleged
actions have traumatized
two families and shocked our
community,” Gonzalez said in
a statement. “I intend to prosecute
this case vigorously and
hold the defendant responsible
for the violent crimes with
which he is charged.”
Brown allegedly killed Rivera
by hitting her repeatedly
with the ax, before hacking
away at his girlfriend, causing
severe lacerations to the
back of her head and gashes
to her torso, arms, and throat,
according to the district attorney’s
offi ce.
The authorities have not
publicly released Brown’s
girlfriend’s name because she
is the victim of a crime.
His girlfriend then got
outside the apartment and
approached an Uber car
that was stopped at a traffic
light and the driver
called 911. Paramedics later
rushed her to a Queens hospital
where she remains in
critical condition.
Emergency personnel
were the first on the scene
and two officers from the
83rd Precinct who showed
up afterwards were subsequently
suspended by the Police
Department for “failure
to take appropriate action,”
by reportedly not mentioning
the child, ax, or dead
woman in the apartment
while requesting backup.
Brown surrendered himself
at the 90th Precinct later
that day around 5:30 p.m. and
confessed to attacking Rivera,
adding that he threw the ax
and his girlfriend’s cellphone
down the building’s incinerator
and washed blood off
his hands before leaving the
apartment.
Assistant district attorneys
Howard Jackson and Joseph
Bianco will prosecute
the case under the supervision
of assistant district attorney
Timothy Gough.
Brown was ordered held
without bail and to return to
court on Aug. 9, according to
the authorities.
INDICTED: District Attorney Eric Gonzalez indicted Williamsburg man
Jerry Brown last Friday for brutally attacking his girlfriend and slaying
her friend Savannah Rivera on April 20. Facebook