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Jeffrey Mackey, age 36, and Alexis Nieves, age 33, both of Amityville, were arraigned on additional charges of murder and related offenses in Suffolk County Court on Friday, April 26 in the killings of Malcolm Brown and Donna Conneely.
Prosecutors said the couple was stabbed to death after entering Mackey and Nieves’ Amityville residence on Railroad Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Brown, a former Westchester County resident whose last known address is in Yonkers, was stabbed once in the neck and once in the torso.
Conneely, a Dutchess County native from Fishkill who had recently lived in Northern Westchester, in Yorktown, suffered multiple stab wounds in the neck and back.
The brutal killings were premeditated by Mackey, Nieves, and a third defendant, 44-year-old Steven Brown, according to prosecutors. Together with a four defendant, 40-year-old Amanda Wallace, they allegedly then dismembered the victims’ bodies inside a bathroom in the home.
According to investigators, the group dumped the body parts in Southards Pond Park in Babylon, Bethpage State Park, and a wooded area in West Babylon.
Two days after the slayings, a student walking to school stumbled upon on Brown’s arm at Southards Pond Park, triggering a massive police search with cadaver dogs.
Crews eventually made the gruesome discoveries of Brown’s other arm, as well as Conneely’s head, torso, arm, and parts of her legs on the opposite side of the park.
A search of Mackey’s Railroad Avenue residence turned up several cutting instruments including a large folding knife, a large kitchen knife, and two meat cleavers. Blood was found in multiple locations throughout the home.
Mackey, Nieves, Brown, and Wallace were first arrested on Monday, March 4, on charges of tampering with evidence, hindering prosecution, and concealment of a human corpse.
However, investigators lacked sufficient evidence to charge anyone with the actual murders. As such, all four defendants were released from jail without bail as their charges were considered non-bail eligible.
Wallace was arrested again days later, on Friday, March 15, after an employee allegedly caught her stealing beauty products from a Lindenhurst CVS store. Following that arrest, a Suffolk County judge ordered her held on $5,000 bond.
In addition to the aforementioned charges, Mackey is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of robbery, while Nieves is facing one murder count.
A Suffolk County judge ordered Mackey held without bail while the case proceeds. Nieves is being held on a $10 million bond.
In a statement following the murder charges, District Attorney Raymond Tierney thanked Suffolk County Police and prosecutors for their “tireless work” leading up to the indictments.
“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,” he said. “I thank the team for ignoring the distractions and doing just that.”
The defendants’ initial release prompted Long Island Republican State Sen. Anthony Palumbo to introduce new legislation that would make dismembering or concealing a human corpse a felony.
“Nobody with an ounce of sensibility would say it’s a good idea to let someone charged with the sickening act of human dismemberment leave jail and roam the streets," Palumbo said.
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