Babylon body parts case: Donna R. Conneely identified by police as victim
Suffolk police on Monday identified one of the victims whose body parts were found at multiple Long Island parks as 59-year-old Donna R. Conneely, hours after two of the defendants charged in connection with the case appeared briefly in Suffolk District Court.
Police identified Conneely as the woman whose body parts were located on Feb. 29 and March 5 in a park in Babylon, Bethpage State Park and a wooded area in West Babylon.
Police said the identity of the male victim, who is 53 and lived at the same address with Conneely in Yonkers, is still pending confirmation by the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Suffolk police did not indicate when the name would be released.
Last week, police said while the two victims had shared an address in Yonkers, it was not clear when they had last lived there. Records indicate Conneely's last address was in Fishkill in Dutchess County.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Suffolk police identified one of two victims whose body parts were found in multiple Long Island parks.
- She was identified as Donna R. Conneely, 59, of Fishkill.
- The male victim's identity was not released, but he and Conneely had previously lived together, police said.
Other New York State addresses listed for her in recent years include locations in Orange County and Westchester County. Family members for Conneely either could not be reached or declined to comment.
Steven Brown, 44, and Amanda Wallace, 40, both of Amityville, who were released without bail last week, appeared briefly Monday before District Court Judge F. Scott Carrigan. They’re due back in court on March 18. The judge imposed the same conditions on them as were imposed after their initial arrests, including electronic bracelet monitoring and restrictions on traveling outside Suffolk County.
Family members of Brown were in court and said they were related to the other victim not yet identified. They indicated the male victim was related to Brown.
One of the family members, Coreen Bullock, called out to Brown when he walked through the courtroom up to the judge, saying "Why did you do this?"
Asked later why she called out, she said: “Because we were all raised together. We are a family. Or at least, I thought we were a family. And we are just looking for answers.”
When asked if Brown responded, she said, “No, I just felt like he looked right through me.”
The victim "wasn't perfect but nobody deserves to be murdered like this,” Bullock said.
Charles Williams, another family member, said: “Steven Brown is our cousin and our parents and his mother, our aunt, they are home, they are suffering, they are hurting and he has nothing to say. He’s gotta do something, he’s gotta tell it, good or bad or otherwise. He’s gotta tell his story so we can move on."
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to felony counts of first-degree hindering prosecution, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence by concealing or destroying. Also charged and released are: Jeffrey Mackey, 38, of Amityville, and Alexis Nieves, 33, who police say is homeless. Mackey and Nieves are dating, according to Mackey's attorney, John Halverson.
Ira Weissman, Brown’s attorney, said: “There is nothing I can further add at this time. The case was adjourned for a week and I’ll have further discussions with the DA’s office, hopefully get some evidence. That would be nice, to see exactly what they claim my client did, what part if any that he took. Then maybe we’ll have more to talk about.”
Wallace’s attorney, Keith O’Halloran, who has offices in Westhampton Beach and Islandia, confirmed his client is in a relationship with co-defendant Brown.
“She’s not charged with murder and she’s not charged with any violent crimes and we look forward to getting the discovery and defending her in court.”
Suffolk prosecutor Frank Schroeder has said authorities have significant evidence against the four defendants, including human remains, meat cleavers, butcher knives, significant amounts of blood and video surveillance.
According to charging documents, between Feb. 27 at 10:53 a.m. and March 4 at 4:08 a.m., the defendants removed from their shared Railroad Avenue home in Amityville “sharp instruments, multiple body parts and other related items and dispose[d] of them to conceal the crime of murder in the second degree.”
The documents said the defendants “did conceal, alter and destroy human body parts” and the “dismembered body parts were removed” from the home and were “concealed at multiple known locations.”
