An East Williamsburg man on Wednesday was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a brutal axe attack in which he left his girlfriend in critical condition, and fatally struck her pregnant friend.
“This was a shocking and senseless act of violence that took the life of a pregnant woman and left a second woman with physical and emotional traumas she suffers to this day," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "Nothing will bring Savannah Rivera back, but I hope today’s sentence brings a measure of solace to her family and friends. The defendant has now been brought to justice.”
The defendant, Jerry Brown, 39, of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 25 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and first-degree assault on June 18, 2024, following a bench trial.
According to the evidence, on April 20, 2019, at approximately 1:35am, the defendant attacked his 21-year-old girlfriend and her friend Savannah Rivera, 20, with an axe inside his girlfriend’s apartment in the Bushwick Houses on Flushing Avenue near Humboldt Street in East Williamsburg. His girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter was present in the apartment during the attack.
The defendant fatally struck Rivera, hitting her repeatedly, and hacked his girlfriend multiple times, causing a severe laceration to the back of her head and gashes to her torso, arms, and throat. After the defendant left the apartment, the surviving victim made her way outside, approached an Uber car that was at a traffic light and the driver called 911. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.
The victim subsequently underwent multiple surgeries while being treated for a fractured skull, broken ribs, collapsed lungs, and multiple stab wounds. She continues to suffer from seizures and remains at heightened risk of developing life-threatening infections.
The defendant surrendered to police at the 90th Precinct later that day at approximately 5:30pm. During an interview with investigators, the defendant confessed to attacking Rivera and said he threw the axe and his girlfriend’s cellphone into the building’s incinerator.
