Babylon body parts: A year later, 4 charged, no clear motive emerges as case moves through the courts

A year after high schoolers discovered a severed arm near a Babylon park, authorities charged four people in connection with the deaths and dismemberment of two victims, whose body parts were found scattered in wooded areas across Long Island.

Malcolm Craig Brown, 53, and Donna R. Conneely, 59, both of Yonkers, were fatally stabbed on Feb. 27, 2024, inside an Amityville home where they were staying with their alleged killers. Their bodies were dismembered and then dumped at Southards Pond Park in Babylon, Bethpage State Park and a wooded area in West Babylon, authorities have said.

Police and prosecutors have not publicly offered a motive for the slayings, other than to say a robbery of a Valero gas station in Copiague a week before their deaths was "very much intertwined" with the killings.

In the year since, Suffolk prosecutors have charged housemates Jeffrey Mackey, 38, and Alexis Nieves, 33, with multiple charges, including second-degree murder and conspiracy in the killings. Their two co-defendants, Steven Brown, the cousin of Malcolm Brown, and Amanda Wallace, have pleaded guilty to charges including concealment of a corpse.

Fears after body parts are found

The body parts were found in late February and early March last year, leading to fear in the community the deaths were tied to a reoccurrence of MS-13 gang violence. Instead, authorities said the victims and the four people charged in the case all knew each other and had been staying together in a home in Amityville.

"Notwithstanding the grizzly details of the murders, we were not going to jump to conclusions," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a recent interview. "We're going to take our time and do our due diligence. That diligence has resulted in the charges in this case."

Prosecutors have alleged that Mackey used the same knife in the killings that he allegedly used during the gas station robbery.

A law enforcement official with deep knowledge of the case told Newsday that it appeared Malcolm Brown and Conneely were killed due to a financial dispute.

"It was an argument mostly over money, I'd say," said the law enforcement official who was not authorized to talk publicly about the details of case.

Tierney declined to discuss the potential motive, but has noted that the victims and defendants were involved in alleged illegal activity together, including the robbery and potential drug crimes. Brown and Conneely allegedly participated in the robbery planning and the four defendants all played roles, Tierney has said.

"I think it's just part and parcel that the relationship that these people had, that they were going out and participating in this conduct, all of which created friction," Tierney said.

Case evidence

During court appearances and in documents, prosecutors have said that investigators found evidence linking the four defendants to the crimes consisting of video surveillance, meat cleavers, butcher knives as well as large amounts of blood and the victims' body parts.

Prosecutors have said Mackey stabbed Brown multiple times in the neck and torso before turning to Brown's wife, Conneely, and stabbing her repeatedly in the neck and back.

Nieves then allegedly smashed Conneely's head multiple times with a meat tenderizer and stabbed her as Mackey strangled her, prosecutors have said.

Mackey and Nieves, who were in a romantic relationship at the time of the killings, both pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy.

They could potentially go on trial sometime this year.

Their defense attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.

Malcolm Brown's sister, who had expressed shock at her cousin having allegedly been involved in her brother's demise, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Steven Brown, 45, admitted conspiring in the deaths of his cousin and cousin's wife before helping to cut up their bodies and scatter the remains.

Brown, while under oath, admitted participating in a plan with Mackey and Nieves with the intent of killing the couple and hiding their deaths.

Brown did not say who committed the killings. Prosecutors have said he helped plan the killings with Mackey and Nieves.

Brown pleaded guilty in September to six felony charges, including conspiracy, two counts of concealment of a human corpse and hindering a prosecution in connection with the deaths of Malcolm Brown, his cousin and Conneely.

Wallace, 41, also pleaded guilty in September as part of a plea deal to five felony charges, including two counts of concealment of a human corpse and hindering a prosecution.

Wallace also pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, for her role as the getaway driver during the knifepoint robbery at a Valero gas station in Copiague, which happened before the killings.

Details of the killings during guilty pleas

Wallace, speaking under oath during her guilty plea, said housemates Mackey and Nieves killed Conneely after Mackey fatally stabbed Malcolm Brown on the morning of Feb. 27, 2024, inside the Railroad Avenue house where they all had been staying.

Wallace said she helped in the cleanup of the crime scene and disposal of the body parts over the next two days.

The plea agreement will require Wallace to serve concurrent jail terms of between 1 and 3 years for the concealment of a human corpse charges, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. She will be sentenced to 2 years on the robbery charge.

Her defense attorney said previously that Wallace will likely serve 2 years behind bars under the agreement.

Steven Brown and Wallace are scheduled to be sentenced for their roles in the case in April.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.