The Murder Of Rashawn Brazell
On the morning of February 14, 2005, 19-year-old Brooklyn resident Rashawn Brazell failed to show up for any of his scheduled appointments. Witnesses would later report seeing Rashawn outside his apartment at approximately 7:30 AM, after an unidentified man rang the buzzer. Rashawn was then seen entering the Gates Avenue subway station with the man. There were also unconfirmed sightings of the two men at the Nostrand Avenue station later that day. In the early morning hours of February 17, transit workers at the Nostrand station found two bags next to the subway tracks. One of them contained some tools and bloody drill bits. The other contained some of the dismembered remains of Rashawn Brazell.
Over the next few days, more of Rashawn’s body parts would be discovered in trash bags at a local recycling plant. His head was never found. A medical examination concluded that Rashawn was likely alive for two days following his disappearance, so he may have undergone torture before his death. Since Rashawn was known to be homosexual, there was some speculation that his murder was a hate crime, but no evidence could be found to support this theory.
However, there was one intriguing clue in the form of the bag containing the bloody drill bits, which was a type sold exclusively to employees of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Since Rashawn’s remains were discovered in an area of the subway station usually only frequented by employees, it’s been theorized that the killer might be a transit worker. It’s unknown if Rashawn’s killer is the same man seen with him outside his apartment, and an investigation has so far failed to turn up any solid suspects.
The story is gruesome as it is, but the fact that it still remains unsolved makes it even more scary.
Coffee out on the patio once again.
