NYC man, his dad kill mom’s new boyfriend — and she helped, prosecutors say

A Manhattan man teamed up with his father to shoot his mother’s new fiancé to death — and the mother helped cover up the murder, prosecutors said Monday.

Khaeir Spencer, 20, and Daniel Spencer, 47, pleaded not guilty to murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, while Tetikwa Horace, 42, pleaded not guilty to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence in Manhattan Supreme Criminal Court, according to court records.

David Brown, 43, was fatally shot in the torso and leg on Dec. 14 by two masked men in the apartment he shared with Horace in NYCHA’s Polo Grounds Towers in Harlem.

Medics rushed him to Harlem Hospital but he could not be saved.

Investigators later retrieved video footage from the building on Frederick Douglass Blvd. near W. 155th St. just before the fatal shooting, showing Horace going into the apartment with her mother and stepfather just minutes before two masked men enter the unit, according to a criminal complaint.

Horace then left with the older couple, removing something from the door frame as she went, according to court papers.

Video showed the masked men remained inside for about two minutes before running from the building, while Brown emerged from the apartment “appearing to be injured and asking for help,” according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said images of the men taken before they put on masks were recognized to be Daniel Spencer and Khaeir Spencer.

“As alleged, this father-son duo murdered David Brown in his own home,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Disturbingly, Mr. Brown’s girlfriend – the mother of one of the accused – allegedly helped by tampering with evidence and hindering the prosecution of this case. We will seek full accountability for this terrible act of gun violence,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Monday.

When Horace was interviewed by detectives the night of Brown’s murder, she said there had been a Ring camera attached to the door frame, but it had not been there that day and she did not take it, according to court papers.

Cops arrested Daniel Spencer in Manhattan on Jan. 16. He pleaded not guilty to charges the following month.

After fleeing Manhattan, Khaeir Spencer was arrested March 4 in Sullivan County. Cellphone records revealed Horace’s phone had gone from New York City to Sullivan County the day after Daniel Spencer was arrested, said court papers.

During a police interview in March, Horace maintained she did not let her ex and her son into the apartment, did not take the Ring camera the night of the murder and did not travel to Sullivan County.

Horace was arrested March 17.

A tenant on the same floor where the murder took place told the Daily News after the shooting that she returned from Christmas shopping with her mother to see a group of police officers and crime scene tape blocking off part of their hallway.

“We never had something like that happen on our floor, so finding that out, it actually scared us and shocked us because we didn’t know who it was,” the tenant said.

Daniel Spencer and Khaeir Spencer are being held without bail on Rikers Island while Horace was released.

With Emma Seiwell

Originally Published: April 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM EDT