The police arrested Tiana Browne, 15, in connection with the murder of her 16-year-old cousin. On Tuesday afternoon, Browne's aunt Marva Braithwaite returned to her home in Crown Heights to find her daughter Shannon stabbed to death.
Browne was found in her cousin's clothes and sneakers, apparently taken after she stabbed her 18 times. Browne also took Shannon's MP3 player, cell phone, and camera. The Daily News reports that "As a good Christian woman, Marva Braithwaite opened her home without hesitation" to Browne, described as a "troubled runaway." Braithwaite believes the suspect was jealous of her daughter but said, "I never knew [she was] planning on killing my daughter."
Browne was charged with murder as an adult. And Braithwaite said at a vigil last night, "When a child is messed up, the whole community is messed up. If a child has problems, you help that child."
