A Brooklyn woman decapitated and dismembered a mother of four
and then scattered her remains in pieces across Long Island over
a measly $200 dispute, authorities and neighbors said Thursday.
Leah Cuevas viciously hacked away at the 27-year-old�s neck and
torso � cutting off her head � during a dispute over money
inside a Brownsville apartment building July 5, officials said.
�No, Leah! What you doing?� a neighbor heard Chinelle Latoya
Thompson Browne�s gut-wrenching scream during the fatal attack.
�Oh, no! Oh, no! I�m sorry! I�m sorry!�
Cuevas cursed back at Browne, telling her to �Shut the f--- up,�
according to court documents.
�The scare in (Browne�s) voice was like nothing I ever heard
before,� a witness told detectives.
The bitter hatred between Cuevas and Browne was sparked by a
dispute over rent and utility payments, court documents show.
Cuevas, 42, charged Browne $400 a month for a room inside her
dead uncle�s Sumpter St. apartment, but wouldn�t provide hot
water or reliable electricity, court papers say.
The Guyanese immigrant, who came to the U.S. just a year ago,
refused to pay Cuevas $200 for electricity she wasn�t getting,
neighbor Donald Watson, 49, told the Daily News.
�(Browne) was tired of paying for lighting and having it go out,
or the refrigerator going out and spoiling the food,� Watson
said. �(Browne) said she wanted to take her money and move out
but the landlord said, �No.� She wanted the $200 . . . but
Browne said, �I need the $200 to move out.��
Browne also accused Cuevas of having sex with a man on a city
bus, allegations made in front of Cuevas� husband, court
documents show.
The conflict came to a grisly and tragic climax on July 5.
�That was the last time (Browne) was heard alive,� Suffolk
County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla said.
On July 8, Browne�s severed legs and torso � which bore a tattoo
that helped police identify her � were found in a municipal
parking lot in Bay Shore near the Fire Island ferry. It was less
than a mile from the home of Cuevas� sister, prosecutors said.
The next day, an arm was discovered on the front lawn of a home
in Hempstead. A second arm was found a day later.
Browne�s head was discovered on Boylston St. near Chamberlain
St. in Hempstead on July 17, officials said.
Her weeping family cheered and raised their arms Thursday when a
judge ordered Cuevas, who was charged with murder, held without
bail during a court appearance in Central Islip.
Browne�s husband Dale and several family members flew from
Guyana to attend the court proceeding. He said his wife was
going to find an apartment so the family could move to the U.S.
�She made the sacrifice for her family. So we resolved together
that we would make the sacrifice, as hard as it was, to do
this,� he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/accused-killer-li-
mom-denied-bail-article-1.1878757
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