A Long Island couple pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing and dismembering two of their housemates, then scattering their body parts across Suffolk County in a case that shocked the tri-state area last year.
Jeffrey Mackey, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and his girlfriend Alexis Nieves, 35, copped to first-degree manslaughter, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News reported.
Mackey admitted to stabbing Malcolm Brown, 53, and Donna Conneely, 59, at the home they all shared in Amityville. Nieves copped to bludgeoning Conneely with a meat tenderizer and stabbing her in the back.
Two other suspects in the case, Steven Brown and Amanda Wallace, pleaded guilty to their roles in September 2024. They admitted to helping cover up the killings by dismembering Conneely and Malcolm Brown’s bodies, then hiding them around Babylon and West Babylon.
All six parties lived under the same roof. On Tuesday, attorneys said Malcolm Brown and Conneely were abusive toward Mackey, which sparked the murder plot.
“Mr. Brown and Ms. Conneely engaged in extensive and profound abuse of Mr. Mackey that had a direct bearing on the facts leading to their deaths. He was a classic victim of household abuse,” defense lawyer Anthony La Pinta told Newsday.
Mackey’s plea agreement calls for 22 years in prison, while Nieves’ only requires 11 years behind bars, according to the Journal News. Mackey, Nieves, Steven Brown and Wallace will all be sentenced on Jan. 13.
The case began in February 2024, when teenagers walking to school past a park spotted a woman’s severed arm. Later in the same day, cops found a human leg in the same park.
Over the course of a few weeks, investigators discovered various body parts throughout the area, eventually determining they belonged to Malcolm Brown and Conneely. The victims’ four housemates were arrested shortly afterward.
“While the crimes that were committed were violent and tragic, resulting in the deaths of two victims, the court had discretion to weigh evidence of domestic violence experienced by one defendant as a significant contributing factor to the offense,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told the Journal News.
