Brigitte Harris

Case details

Brigitte Harris was convicted for the suffocation and castration murder of her Liberian-born father, Eric Goodridge, in her Rockaway, Queens apartment. Brigitte and her sister, Carleen Goodridge, claimed their father had raped and sexually abused them since they were little girls.

Background

Brigitte Harris was born on June 6, 1981. When she was 2 years old, she was abandoned by her mother in their Park Hill, New York apartment, and she went to live with her father on Long Island. Her father later moved back to his home country of Liberia, and Brigitte moved around with relatives.

Brigitte said she was physically abused by her grandmother: “In that house we were slaves and if we disobeyed, grandma hit us with a stick”.

Brigitte also claimed she was sexually abused by her cousin: “My cousin forced me to perform oral sex on him.”

During a family trip to Liberia, Brigitte confronted her mother and pastor about the abuse from her relatives, but Eric Goodridge denied the allegations, claiming that she was crazy.

By the age of 17, Brigitte became independent and got her own place. When she was 26, she had been living on her own for years and worked as an airport security guard.

Brigitte referred to herself as “Lady Vengeance” and “The Original Dark Angel” on her MySpace page.

The offence

After several years of not seeing their father, Carleen (Brigitte’s sister) called Brigitte because Eric Goodridge (their father) wanted to talk to them. When Brigitte arrived, she saw one of her nieces sitting on Eric’s lap. Brigitte and Carleen argued about her sister letting their father stay in her house, considering what he had done to them as children.

Eric told Brigitte about his decision to take his granddaughters with him to Liberia. Brigitte decided to see her father alone in her Rockaway apartment to reason with him and try to convince him not to take the girls on July 28, 2007. She asked her father to get help. After the conversation became heated, Brigitte handcuffed her father and gagged him with a towel to prevent him from screaming.

Using a scalpel, Brigitte removed her father’s penis. She called 9-1-1, and let them know he was still alive and needed help. She told the operator that she was on her way to the police station, but she never showed up. Instead, she called her sister and told her what she had done. Carleen advised her to come to her home instead of going to the police. When Brigitte arrived, Carleen called an ambulance. After seeing her with the scalpel in hand and still in shock, they decided to check her into the Richmond University Medical Center psychiatric ward.

Prosecutors maintained that Brigitte intentionally handcuffed her father, stuffed a towel down his throat, and then used a scalpel to remove his penis. Prosecutors also said she threw the severed penis under a Far Rockaway boardwalk.

Brigitte testified that she had researched the 1993 castration case of Lorena Bobbitt. She argued that her motive for the killing was not revenge, but an act to prevent Goodridge from taking his granddaughters to Liberia and molesting them.

She later stated verbatim: “I felt that I had to stop him” and “take away his weapon”.

Investigation and charges

After being discharged from the psychiatric ward on August 16, 2007, Brigitte was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter and was held at Rikers Island.

Arrest and pre-trial

Brigitte was held at Rikers Island after her discharge from the psychiatric ward.

Trial

Brigitte went to trial in September 2009, two years after her arraignment for second-degree murder. She testified in her own defense.

During the trial, Brigitte told her lawyer details about how her father sexually abused her throughout her childhood. She claimed he told her that in some African cultures, fathers have to take their daughter’s virginity: “He said he was doing it because he loves me and that is how fathers show love to their daughters.”

Carleen also testified that she was too afraid to speak up and admitted she was sexually abused by their father as well.

Prosecution arguments (as recounted)

In opening statements, the prosecutor argued that whatever horrors Harris had endured at the hands of her father should have little bearing on the crime itself, and said: “I’m not going to stand up here and say that the abuse did or didn’t happen.” She continued: “But what I will tell you is that at no time did she ever report it to the police, to child services, or even to members of her own family. Instead, this defendant chose to take the law into her own hands. She made a deliberate choice to make a plan, to execute that plan, to put that plan into action.”

Defence arguments (as recounted)

Arthur Aidala argued that revenge existed because of “an original sin,” and told the jury: “If she [Ross] wants to talk about vengeance, you have to keep in mind, revenge only exists because there was an original sin,” and “Something that happened in the past.” Aidala further said: “The legal system wasn’t getting it right, so she had to stop him—because he just wouldn’t be stopped,” and “And the only way to stop him was to take off his weapon of mass destruction.”

A juror later said: “None of us felt that she deserved to get any murder charges or anything. So we decided on second-degree Manslaughter.”

Brigitte’s jury deliberated for just a day.

Verdict

On September 30, 2009, Brigitte’s jury found her guilty of the lesser included offense of second-degree manslaughter.

In separate reporting, the jury was described as having acquitted her of both second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, while finding her guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

Sentencing

After the verdict, Queens Supreme Court Judge Arthur Cooperman sentenced Brigitte Harris to the maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison.

Cooperman gave the maximum sentence: five-to-fifteen years, and said: “The jury demonstrated leniency that the court may otherwise have exercised.”

At sentencing, Cooperman acknowledged findings of mental health professionals and cautioned against victims taking the law into their own hands, saying: “Sometimes the crime itself warrants punishment.”

Before sentencing, four jurors attended and in letters urged Cooperman to set Harris free so she could seek psychiatric care.

Brigitte’s attorney Arthur Aidala said that were it not for the jury, Brigitte would probably be spending the rest of her life behind bars, and told reporters: “They handcuffed the judge from committing an injustice.”

Comfort Lawrence, identified as Harris’s aunt, said: “Brigitte has shown no remorse.”

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

Brigitte Harris was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison on October 29, 2009. After serving 5 years, she was released on parole on August 13, 2012.

Brigitte said: “I don’t think killing him was the answer...I can’t believe I actually did it. The only thing I had in my mind was to stop him.”

Aftermath

Brigitte stated she wanted to work for the advocacy group STEPS to End Family Violence when she got out of prison.

Brigitte was profiled on the Oxygen Network series Snapped in November 2010. Her case was later profiled on the Investigation Discovery program Deadly Women in the episode “Parents' Peril”.

During sentencing reporting, Harris was described as taking cooking class in jail and reading vampire novels and mysteries while on Rikers Island. She also said in a jailhouse interview: “Thinking back now, I definitely would have tried to put my resources into getting him put in jail,” and “But I thought that people weren’t going to believe me.” She told The News: “There was no way I could let it continue,” and “I did it because I couldn’t let my sister’s children go through that.”

She also said about the evidence: “I don’t know why I didn’t take the towel out of his mouth,” and “I didn’t want him to hurt anybody else.”

About family support, she said she told her sister, her aunts and other relatives about Goodridge’s abuse, but they refused to believe her. She quoted an aunt saying: “No matter what he did, he’s still your father.” She said: “The people who did know me should have known I wasn’t lying,” “They knew me. They knew I wasn’t that type.”

She said: “I probably should have talked to someone earlier.” She added: “So many people say it’s not your fault, but you don’t believe them,” in the Advance interview.

Brigitte also spoke about education and treatment in prison. She stated she had been learning culinary arts and taking college-level classes through the Prison Education Initiative (PEI). She said she received regular psychiatric treatment and medication, and that she was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and a personality disorder.

Brigitte said she would like to work with STEPS to End Family Violence, tell others about her experience, and finish college and open a restaurant. She stated: “I was a totally different person then. I’ve been able to tell my story to so many people now,” and “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be OK.”

She described her “first time” receiving professional help as checking herself into a psychiatric ward at Bayley Seton Hospital in Clifton on the night of the murder. She said she had been suspicious of authority figures.

Other details

Brigitte and her sister Carleen were described as arguing about confronting their father about his abuse. Carleen said: “My sister, she just always wanted to talk about it. She wanted help. She wanted people to know what he was doing,” and “I wouldn’t allow her to talk about it. That’s what divided us.”

Carleen launched a public-relations campaign to “Save Brigitte.” Within 36 hours of the murder, Carleen hired star defense attorney Arthur Aidala and told the world that both she and Brigitte had been victims of a pedophile father who regularly and repeatedly raped them from a very young age. Carleen set up a website collecting donations for a defense fund and held press conferences to round up support.

Brigitte’s case described preparation and research: she had researched cases involving castration, and she purchased scalpels. In one account, she bought a package of 50 scalpels on eBay for $6.83, including shipping.

In reporting on the 911 call and aftermath, it was described that she dialed 911 as she walked away and asked that an ambulance be sent to her address, saying someone was bleeding to death on the third floor. It was also described that EMTs arrived and Eric was dying, with “strangled to death,” and that the cause of death was asphyxiation. It was also described that the severed penis was missing and that notes at the scene hinted at a history of sexual abuse, including: “He wrecked my life,” and “At first, I blamed myself. Now I know it’s not my fault.”

A quote from Brigitte was recorded in connection with her home video “My Reasons”: “Just know I’m doing this because I know he’s not going to change … I’m really sorry, guys. This is something that just has to be done.”

In one account of sentencing-related commentary, a judge and reporters discussed juror letters and social workers from Rikers pledged to find a job and give free counseling if the judge set her free.

Brigitte was later described as missing Edina, the niece she believed she was saving by attacking her father, and longing for word of Lovette, her half-sister, who she believed was still in Liberia.