Ex-con boyfriend of mom found decomposing in Bronx NYCHA apartment charged with shooting her
The ex-con boyfriend of a mother found decomposing in her Bronx NYCHA apartment has been arrested for shooting her, cops said Tuesday.
Lacon Brown, 48, was charged Monday afternoon with murder, manslaughter and weapon possession for the slaying of Cindy Maxwell, police said.
The 45-year-old victim’s two young daughters were home when their mother was shot multiple times in their apartment in the Parkside Houses in Allerton, though it isn’t clear how much they saw, police sources said.
Neighbors recalled hearing gunshots last Wednesday, three days before Maxwell’s remains were discovered.
Police came to Maxwell’s 12th-floor apartment on Arnow Ave. near Barker Ave. about 3:50 p.m. Saturday after a downstairs neighbor called 911 to report an awful stench coming from the home.
Responding officers found Maxwell’s corpse and quickly learned that her two daughters, ages 11 and 6, were missing. Her daughters were last seen leaving the apartment about 10 a.m. Wednesday, cops said.
Investigators immediately began searching for Brown, the father of Maxwell’s two daughters.
NYPD officers found him at his home on Monroe Ave. in Mount Hope and took him into custody Sunday as a person of interest. A second man was also taken into custody but later released.
The girls were found safe in Brown’s home, cops said.
When cops questioned the older daughter, she was aware that her mother was dead, a police source said.
Brown made a statement placing himself on the scene during questioning, then immediately asked for a lawyer, police sources said. His arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending Tuesday.
Maxwell’s relatives described her as a devoted mom and called her death devastating.
“Very family-oriented. A great person,” said a cousin, Kinte Maxwell.
Another cousin, who didn’t give his name, said, “It’s hurtful. It’s just sad. It’s tragic. She’s a good person. She’d go to work and come home. That’s it.”
The neighbor who heard the shots told the Daily News police responded to a different building in the NYCHA complex, possibly because of the way the shots echoed. Cops confirmed they responded to a report of shot fired at the complex that day but found no victims.
Brown did a year in state prison after being convicted of attempted robbery in Brooklyn in 1999, according to court records. He was most recently arrested on a criminal mischief charge in 2020, police said.
