Murder Victim May Have Abused Others

The lawyer for Brigitte Harris, the Queens woman accused of killing and mutilating her stepfather, says that Eric Goodridge committed a "pattern of repeated and systemic sexual abuse." Harris's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told reporters that while he couldn't say what happened on Saturday, when Goodridge was found dead in Harris' apartment, he did say that his client had been abused from age 3, "This guy was a monster."

The Staten Island Advance reports that there are a number of accusations that the 55-year-old Goodridge had abused family members, including Harris' sister Carleen Goodridge. Apparently others in the Liberian community heard rumors about the alleged abuse. A friend of Goodridge said, "A lot of people spoke about it. It's hard to keep a secret around here."

Police believe Harris, a 26-year-old who called herself "The Original Dark Angel" on MySpace, lured her stepfather to her apartment. After killing him, she apparently called 911 to let them know about "a man bleeding to death on third floor of the house." The Daily News reports that she left the apartment, leaving the door open for the EMTs, and later called 911, asking "How's Eric?"

The Advance says that Harris "sought psychological help several times" and "told a city social worker about the abuses, prompting an investigation that was never completed."

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By Jen Chung in News on July 31, 2007 9:11 AM

Comments [rss]

TN

Everyone let her down (family, city, etc) and this was the result.

guest

This was her stepfather which means that her mother brought him into the family and then let him stay. There is no way that this woman did not know what this animal was doing to her children. I would be more angry at her!!!

guest

That poor young lady.

If she were my child, It would be me standing trial for his murder.

guest

If NY was full of vigilantes, we'd all be dead...

and BTW, the family members should be put on trial for knowing something was wrong and not doing anything to stop it...

guest

I hope she shoved his thing down his throat.

choke on that.

Elderta

From the SILive link:

"Ms. Harris, who lived in Brooklyn and Staten Island and moved to Queens about a year ago, sought psychological help several times, according to her friends. She reportedly told a city social worker about the abuses, prompting an investigation that was never completed."