Christopher Johnson | Homicide Watch Trenton

Grand jury indicts alleged killer Briann Lindsey on murder charges

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 26 May 2017 14:18:15 -0400

Briann Lindsey

The city woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death earlier this year inside their Brookville Commons apartment has been indicted on murder charges.

A grand jury on Thursday handed up an indictment charging Briann Lindsey, 25, of Clearfield Avenue, with one count of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Lindsey remains in custody.

Lindsey, who has a history of mental health issues, is alleged to have stabbed fatally stabbed 35-year-old Christopher Johnson about 4:15 p.m. March 6 inside their Island neighborhood apartment on the 300 block of Clearfield Avenue in Trenton’s West Ward. Lindsey tried to clean up the crime scene prior to police arrival, prosecutors allege.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds presented the case to the grand jury for indictment. The murder charges are a result of an investigation led by Mercer County Homicide Task Force Detective Jessica Senese of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

A public defender who represented Lindsey in March said her client has a history of mental health issues and noted Lindsey was placed on suicide watch at the county jail.

Lawyer: Trenton woman accused of murdering boyfriend has ‘mental health issues’

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 18:15:54 -0500

Briann Lindsey

The city woman accused of murdering her boyfriend inside their Brookville Commons apartment has a history of mental health issues and has been placed on suicide watch at the county jail.

Briann Lindsey, 25, has been held at the Mercer County Correction Center since Tuesday on charges she fatally stabbed 35-year-old Christopher Johnson about 4:15 p.m. Monday.

Lindsey’s attorney, public defender Nicole Carlo, at a detention hearing on Thursday revealed her client’s history of mental illness and the fact that her client has been placed on suicide watch at the county lockup.

Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to keep Lindsey incarcerated without bail pending final resolution of the case. The state, however, asked for more time to build its case and provide the defense with “discovery” evidence in the case, so the detention hearing that began Thursday has been effectively postponed to resume at 1:30 p.m. next Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw.

During her court appearance on Thursday, Lindsey sat in her seat at the defense table with her head down during the entire proceeding, which was uneventful aside from the revelations of Lindsey’s history with mental illness.

Carlo argued for her client to be provided with an immediate mental health evaluation, saying her client had been denied her right to mental health treatment.

Judge Warshaw agreed that Lindsey needed to be evaluated by mental health experts and said he was “confident” that the Mercer County Correction Center would be responsive in assessing Lindsey’s needs.

Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds at Thursday’s hearing said Lindsey would be evaluated later that day by the Capital Health crisis team.

Lindsey is accused of fatally stabbing her beau in the kitchen area of their Brookville Commons apartment in Trenton’s Island neighborhood in the West Ward. Lindsey tried to clean up the crime scene prior to police arrival, prosecutors allege.

Trenton woman arrested in Brookville Commons murder

Penny Ray — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 09:52:09 -0500

Briann Lindsey

The man who was stabbed to death in the capital city Monday evening has been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Johnson and his girlfriend has been charged in connection with his murder.

His girlfriend also tried to mislead detectives when they questioned her about the fatality.

Police were dispatched to the couple's apartment in the 300 block of Clearfield Avenue around 4:15 p.m. Monday. Officials say 25-year-old Briann Lindsey was at the apartment when police arrived and found Johnson dead.

Sources say Lindsey initially told police her boyfriend — identified as Johnson — had left the apartment and was stabbed in an unknown location. She told police Johnson walked back to Clearfield Avenue and collapsed dead in the apartment.

After detectives discussed the matter, sources say, they realized something about that story seemed fishy. Police then took Lindsey to police headquarters where they presumably learned the truth.

Officials have not disclosed a motive for the killing, but Lindsey is charged with murder and related weapons offenses.

Christopher Johnson (submitted photo)

Prosecutors say the investigation revealed Lindsey stabbed Johnson in the kitchen area of their Brookville Commons apartment, and that he collapsed in the hallway. Prosecutors also say Lindsey tried to clean up the crime scene prior to police arrival.

During her first court appearance via video conference, Lindsey was wrapped in a gray blanket and hung her head low the entire time. When a Mercer County judge asked whether she understood the charges against her, the woman accused of killing her boyfriend remained silent.

When pressed by her attorney, public defender Tom Belsky who said she must answer the question, Lindsey began sobbing. Eventually, she squeaked out a "Yes, sir," and continued crying. She struggled with that same type of response two more times to the judge's questions.

Lindsey is scheduled for a detention hearing March 9.

After learning news about his death, several of Johnson's family and friends expressed sorrow on social media.

"Please pray for his mother and sister and the rest of the family," Johnson's cousin Richard Montgomery wrote on Facebook. "Now I lost two cousins to murder."

Trentonian staff writer David Foster contributed to this report.

Brookville Commons in Trenton was the scene of a fatal stabbing Monday night. (David Foster - The Trentonian)

Man stabbed to death in Trenton

David Foster — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 17:57:01 -0500

Brookville Commons in Trenton was the scene of a fatal stabbing Monday night. (David Foster - The Trentonian)

UPDATE: The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Johnson from South Brunswick, and his girlfriend has been charged with murder.

Yellow police tape was tied from the guardrail of the apartment building's front steps to a telephone pole and around a tree, flapping in the wind.

Curious neighbors walked by as a police officer guarded the entrance of building 321 of the Brookville Commons apartment complex on Clearfield Avenue near Route 29.

"Did somebody get killed?" asked one woman who's lived at the apartment complex for seven years. "What happened?"

She would soon find out that a man was stabbed to death on the third floor of the apartment building.

The Mercer County Homicide Task Force is investigating the death of a 34-year-old black male, who sources say is "not from this area." Authorities were called to the scene at approximately 4:15 p.m. Monday. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

One man who was walking to and from the building said "something happened" in his female cousin's room, implying it was a domestic situation.

"Police are trying to question the baby," the man said, adding the baby is two years old. "They're trying to find out what happened."

He said she was alive but the man was dead.

A woman who lives on the second floor was shocked to come home and find out a murder occurred in her building.

"I know the people who live on top of me have a lot of kids and it's a man and a lady," the young woman said. "They're super loud. It's usually the kids."

The woman said she's lived in her apartment for a year and is planning to move out after her building was turned into a crime scene.

"I wouldn't have thought something like that would happened, especially not right here," said the woman, who was too afraid to give her name. "Yeah, that's scary."

A man who said he's lived down the street from the apartment building for three years echoed the woman's sentiments. He said violent crime on that street is rare, and that the biggest issue he's had is loud music.

As police at the scene walked in and out of the building, flashes of light from a camera could be observed going off sporadically in the top floor apartment.

A window in the apartment was cracked open on the chilly March day.

The woman who's lived at the apartment complex for seven years said she knows the building and would know the faces of the people who reside on the top floor.

"Not too many people have lived in this building," she said, adding the apartment complex is a mix of public assistance and market-value housing.

This man's death marks the third homicide of 2017 in Trenton.

Trentonian staff writer Penny Ray contributed to this report.