Tyresse Minter, a 28-year-old ex-convict, was charged yesterday with killing his teenage stepson Corde Scott (15) by squeezing his neck in the middle of an argument at their home in The Bronx (NYC).
After spending five years in jail for a shooting, Minter had been free for only a month when he got into a deadly argument with his partner’s son on January 23. He originally told police that he had picked up the teenager at school that day, where he had been getting into trouble. She also claimed in his testimony that his stepson had apparently pulled a knife on her before suffering an acute asthma attack, according to NYPD.
The argument became more heated upon arriving home in Westchester Square, where Minter allegedly choked Corde and then beat him with his legs to prevent him from breaking free. When he knocked him unconscious, she waited 20 minutes before calling 911, Bronx District Attorney Darcell Clark alleged.
Scott was unconscious when he was rushed from his family’s apartment to Jacobi Medical Center. He had suffered trauma and bruising to his neck, and doctors were unable to save him. The hospital called the police, and Minter was arrested.
Yesterday he was arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Naita Semja-Williams, who rejected the prosecutors’ request to keep him behind bars. The ex-convict was released without bail after being charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal negligence, Daily News noted. He is due back in court on June 20.
“The defendant allegedly had a dispute with his stepson and held him down by grabbing him by the neck, resulting in oxygen deprivation that led to the boy’s death. It is horrible that his life was taken at such a young age,” prosecutor Clark said in a statement.
Minter had served a five-year sentence for a shooting in August 2018. He pleaded guilty to assault at that time but initially faced attempted murder charges, according to court records.
All charges are mere accusations, and those prosecuted are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.