On a Wednesday afternoon in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 51-year-old Nichelle Thomas was walking into a corner deli on Fourth Avenue and St. Marks Place when her life was tragically cut short. It was approximately 1 p.m. on April 21, 2021, when a woman approached her from behind and shot her in the head. The brazen daylight attack was captured on surveillance video, showing the assailant running up to Thomas as she was about to enter the store. Emergency services rushed Thomas to a nearby hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries.
The suspect in the shocking killing was identified as 38-year-old Latisha Bell of the Bronx, who was described as Thomas's ex-girlfriend. The two had been in a tumultuous on-and-off relationship that was plagued by domestic violence issues. Just hours after the fatal shooting, Bell turned herself in at the 78th Precinct. She reportedly confessed to the crime, telling officers, 'I am turning myself in for the homicide,' and informing them that the gun was in her bag. Police recovered a. 38 caliber revolver.
Latisha Bell was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. She was arraigned and held without bail. Friends and family remembered Nichelle Thomas as a beloved mother of two and a grandmother. She was actively involved in her church community and was pursuing a graduate degree to become a social worker at the time of her death.
