Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney slammed Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's "laughably inadequate" crime platform after four suspects charged with dismembering two bodies and disposing of them in public were freed under the state's bail laws.
"Governor Hochul is either completely clueless or being deceitful about how the criminal justice system works," Tierney said in a fiery statement Thursday morning.
Under New York's bail reform laws, passed in 2019 while Hochul was lieutenant governor, charges of merely chopping up and disposing of dead bodies aren't eligible for bail, said Tierney, who is personally handling the prosecution of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.
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So the four suspects, Alexis Nieves, 33, Amanda Wallace, 40, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, and Steven Brown, 44, were set free on supervised release Wednesday.
"The Suffolk County police homicide detectives are the best in the country, and they are working 24-7 on this case," Tierney said. "For the governor to criticize the efforts of these detectives without knowing any of the facts in defense of a broken bail system is both baffling and indefensible."
Hochul sat down with "Good Day New York" earlier Thursday to discuss her new anti-crime initiatives, which involve sending state troopers and the National Guard to New York City's subway system to assist the NYPD.
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She also took a swipe at Tierney and Suffolk County police during the interview.
"Maybe the DA should have done a more thorough investigation and brought murder charges, or conspiracy to commit murder, or even assault charges because all of them are bail eligible," the governor told FOX 5 New York hosts Rosanna Scotto and Curt Menefee. "Maybe they brought it a little early. I encourage the DA's office to go back and build your case."
Prosecutors could only file charges based on evidence, he said – and the four suspects were charged with evidence tampering, hindering prosecution and concealing human remains after a child's discovery of a severed arm in Babylon last week led police to numerous other body parts from two different victims.
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"It would have been unethical to file the charges the governor mentioned based on currently available evidence," Tierney said, adding that police had a solid enough case for the existing charges.
"Did the governor want the police to leave them out despite having evidence that they cut up and disposed of two bodies?" he asked.
Separately, the governor blamed judges in New York City for recidivist crime rates and questioned whether they understood state law.
"The governor’s platform on public safety is laughably inadequate, and she should know enough not to comment on ongoing investigations," Tierney added. "It would be helpful if the governor confined her comments to subjects that she knows something about."
Tierney has previously appealed to state lawmakers to make "common sense" fixes to the state's bail system.
