Four Amityville Residents indicted for their involvement in the murder and dismemberment of Yonkers Couple

May 07, 2024

Four Amityville Residents were indicted last week for their involvement in the murder of a Yonkers, New York couple.

Earlier this year in February, a Long Island student on her way to school discovered a severed arm on the side of the road near Southards Pond Park in Babylon. The shocked student called her father, who quickly arrived at the scene and reported the discovery to a 911 dispatcher.

Police arrived at the scene with a K9 unit, and slowly began to recover additional severed body parts, including a second arm, as well as a severed leg found protruding from a stack of leaves.

At a glance, officers determined that the arms belonged to that of an adult male, and the fingertips were missing.

Dogs later discovered further human remains belonging to an adult female, including an arm, a head, and pieces of legs.

Some days later, and approximately ten miles from the initial site of discovery, Students discovered more remains in Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale.

More body parts were found on March 5 in West Babylon.

These scattered remains were found in various parks and woodland throughout Suffolk county in late February 2024 to early March 2024.

Despite attempts to conceal the victim’s identity, and spread their remains over several miles, police were soon able to officially identify the decedents on 11 March 2024, as Donna Conneely, 59, and Malcolm Craig Brown, 53, a couple from Westchester, New York. The pair lived together in Yonkers, around seventeen miles from New York City and thirty miles from where their remains had been discarded.

Alexis Nieves, 33, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, Steven Brown, 44, and Amanda Wallace, 40, were arrested in connection with the double murder. Each was initially charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.

According to media-outlets Mackey and Nieves pleaded not guilty at a court hearing and were released on bail on account of the states "lenient bail reform politics." Both were released on supervised release without bail.

The City of New York ended the use of money bail and jail for most cases involving misdemeanours and lower-level felonies in 2019. This law was implemented in early 2020 with the aim of release over detention in cases of misdemeanours and lower-level felonies.

Since the charges against the suspects were considered "non-bail eligible," no bail could be set, and they were released with the condition that they continued to wear ankle monitors.

Suspects Wallace, Brown, and Mackey lived together at a residence on Railroad Avenue in Amityville. Reports state that the four had moved there just a few weeks prior.

Nieves is reportedly homeless.

A search warrant was executed at the shared Amityville property where investigators said they recovered "significant evidence," including DNA evidence and alleged potential instruments of murder and dismemberment (meat cleavers and butcher knives) as well as surveillance footage.

According to Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder, the sink and toilets of the home were “rendered inoperable,” following the suspects alleged attempts to dispose of the victim’s remains at the home.

Suffolk County prosecutors have revealed that Brown and Conneely were allegedly stabbed to death in the Amityville Property on Railroad Avenue on February 27, 2024.

Both victims were stabbed in the neck and upper torso. Coneely was also stabbed in the back. The murder is thought to be premeditated by Brown, Mackey, and Nieves. They are accused of violently attacking and killing the victims, dismembering them on the property, and attempting to flush the remains before accidentally blocking the plumbing and discarding the remains outside in various Suffolk county parks.

Last week, the four suspects were indicted for their roles in the murder and dismemberment of Brown and Conneely. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement on April 29, 2024:

"I would like to thank the hard-working men and women of the Suffolk County Police Department and my prosecutors for their tireless work in bringing this investigation to the point where we are able to charge the responsible individuals with murder and seek bail. Those in law enforcement must do their jobs without fear or Favor. Ethically, charges can and should only be brought when the facts and evidence are clear. I thank the team for ignoring the distractions and doing just that.”

According to family members, Malcolm Craig Brown had a complicated past, but they say regardless of his prior record, he did not deserve to be murdered.

Mackey has been indicted with additional accounts including two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, One count of Conspiracy in the Second Degree and One count of Robbery in the First Degree.

Nieves has been indicted on additional counts of One count of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Conspiracy in the Second Degree.

Brown, who is allegedly the cousin of victim Malcolm Brown, is facing additional charges of Conspiracy in the Second Degree and Robbery in the First Degree, and Wallace is facing an additional count of Robbery in the First Degree.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney has alleged that both the suspects, and victims, had been planning to rob a local gas station at knifepoint, and believes this may have been an element involved in the murders.

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