NY landlady found guilty of killing Guyanese mom

Dec 16, 2015 News

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A Brooklyn woman has been convicted in the killing and dismemberment of a friend and neighbour whose remains were discarded on Long Island.

Victim Chinelle Browne (left) and landlady Leah Cuevas

A Suffolk County jury took only a few hours to convict Leah Cuevas of second-degree murder, Newsday reported.
Prosecutors say she killed 28-year-old Chinelle Latoya Thompson Browne, a mother of four, in a dispute over rent and utility payments in the summer of 2014. Browne was renting a room from Cuevas.
Some of the Guyana-born immigrant’s remains were found in an abandoned lot in Bay Shore on July 9. Her head and arms were found days later in three different locations about 25 miles west in Hempstead.
Trial testimony detailed the discovery of Browne’s blood inside Cuevas’ Brooklyn apartment. Prosecutors say Cuevas stabbed Browne 39 times.
Neighbors had said Browne had gotten into a fight with Cuevas just before she went missing.
Cuevas faces 25 years to life in prison when she’s sentenced Jan. 14.