Perp in cold case sentenced

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It took more than 20 years, but the family of a murdered woman whose body was dropped near 5815 Liebig Ave. felt like they got justice at Bronx Criminal Court on June 12.

After Lucius Crawford was convicted for the 1993 murder of Nella West, the victim’s daughter addressed the perpetrator in Bronx Criminal Court on June 12.

“My life was shattered. You not only killed my mother; you killed my childhood,” LaToye Townes said, according to court documents. “Today, I will get the justice I never thought I would get. Today, I take back my life and the memories I have of my mother.”

Mr. Crawford pleaded guilty in May to fatally stabbing Ms. West, a prostitute. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. Authorities previously gave him the same sentence for stabbing his girlfriend Tanya Simmons to death in 2012. His rap sheet also included stabbing 13 other women.

The West case goes back to Oct. 20, 1993, when authorities found the victim dead with multiple stab wounds, a broken eye socket and a crushed skull in a vacant lot. She was 28. Investigators theorized she was murdered in Yonkers and that her body was dumped a few blocks from the city line in Riverdale.

They were unable to make headway until retired Det. Dennis Browne contacted the Bronx Homicide Squad. Evidence obtained from Ms. West’s body matched a file on Mr. Crawford in a current DNA database.

Det. Browne said he had been haunted by the crime since he caught the case — his first murder at the 50th Precinct.

“Not a day went by that I didn’t think about the family. You get a homicide like that — it’s brutal. It eats at you,” he said.

He voiced relief that the case was finally closed. 

“The important thing is that she’s resting in peace right now,” Det. Browne said of Ms. West. “Her family has peace. Am I sad that it took 22 years? Yeah. But am I glad it’s over? Yeah.”

Lucius Crawford, convicted, murder, Nella West, LaToye Townes, Det. Dennis Browne, Nic Cavell