A socialist politician backed by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the Brooklyn woman who executed her ex-girlfriend deserves sympathy.
Police say Latisha Bell, 38, executed her ex-girlfriend Nichelle Thomas, 51, on Wednesday in the Park Slope neighborhood where she lived. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Brooklyn: 4th Avenue & St. Marks Place, video #CaughtOnCamera how a suspect shoots a woman in her head in the confines of the @NYPD78Pct earlier today.
The victim was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased. pic.twitter.com/KvcaeH8Tn7
— NYC Scoop (@NY_Scoop) April 21, 2021
Bell turned herself in at the 78th Precinct police station hours after the shooting.
Bell’s sister tells Dailymail.com that Bell was a teenager when she moved in with Thomas. The two women lived together for 20 years before Bell moved out three years ago.
“My sister’s been dealing with mental issues for a very long time,” she said. “My sister doesn’t deserve this. She tried to leave her alone but the woman kept coming back to her.”
She said Thomas took advantage of her sister’s mental illness.
Bell’s sister, who asked for anonymity, said Thomas caused Bell to lose custody of her child.
She said Bell and Thomas fought often and police were called to their Park Slope apartment 15 times before Bell moved out.
“Every time she saw my sister doing well she kept going back to her, knowing that she’s mentally disabled. They had a long going domestic violence issue – when my sister left she should have just kept on going.”
“You don’t play with the mentally ill,” she added.
Brandon West, a candidate for New York’s City Council, said Bell deserves sympathy because she was a victim of “intergenerational trauma”.
He suggested Bell was a victim of an elder gay who preyed on the younger woman.
“People grow up in hostile and toxic environments, experience abuse and poverty and receive minimal help or education from professionals and the government,” West wrote in a series of tweets on Thursday. “This can lead to them having undiagnosed, unsupported mental and material issues that end up perpetuating violence.”
Brandon asked for sympathy for the mom-of-two, saying even murderers are victims.
“We can only progress if we recognize that even murderers and abusers are victims, as they’re usually suffering at the hands of complex emotional and intergenerational trauma which compels them to commit awful acts,” West added. “We should uplift compassion and understanding above all else.”
