Motive Remains a Mystery in Quadruple Homicide

But a crowdfunding campaign is raising money for the family's lone survivor, a teenager
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 31, 2017 1:00 PM CST
Crowdfunding to Help Teen Whose Family Was Slain
Justin Mann enters the court room for his arraignment on murder charges, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Troy, N.Y.   (Steve Hughes/The Albany Times Union via AP)

With two suspects in custody after a quadruple homicide, police in Troy, New York, say they don't expect to make any more arrests. Nor are police shedding light on a possible motive, disclosing only that one of the two men—James White, 38, and Justin Mann, 24— knew one of the victims, reports the Albany Times Union. Killed were Shanta Myers, 36; her children, 11-year-old Jeremiah and 5-year-old Shanise; and her partner, Brandi Mells, 22. There might have been one more victim, but Myers' 15-year-old son, Isaiah Smith, was out of town when the murders took place. Now, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $40,000 to pay for a scholarship for the teen, as well as to cover funeral expenses.

Both men face charges of first-degree murder, which could see them sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole. White received 11 years in state prison in 2000 for first-degree manslaughter, while Mann got 5 years in 2010 for first-degree robbery, reports the Daily Gazette. Police sources tell the Times Union that footage from security cameras around Troy led to the arrests. That raises the possibility that the Schenectady men used public transportation because local buses have high-res video cameras. The four victims were found bound in their basement apartment, with their throats slashed. (More murder stories.)

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