Falls man pleads guilty to murder after fatally beating ex-girlfriend's boyfriend

Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
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Nov. 28—A Niagara Falls man is facing 25 years to life in prison after beating a Buffalo man to death with a metal pipe last year.

Abouycea D. Thornton, 31, of Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty Monday before State Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Haendiges to one count of second-degree murder (a Class "A-I" felony). Thornton pleaded guilty to the highest count in the indictment against him, according to Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.

On Sept. 17, 2022, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Buffalo Police responded to a reported fight on the 400 block of Berkshire Avenue near Bailey Avenue. Thornton attacked his ex-girlfriend and beat her boyfriend with a metal pipe. The victim, 29-year-old Nickolas Grazes from Buffalo, died from his injuries. The female victim was treated for injuries to her arm and released from the hospital.

Thornton faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 14. He is being held without bail.

Flynn commended the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for their work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Gary W. Hackbush of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Rachel M. Vicario of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau.