On a summer night in Brooklyn, a dispute between two men escalated into a fatal encounter that would ultimately lead to a lengthy prison sentence for the killer. The victim, 35-year-old Seneca W. McCullough, was a dedicated husband and father of six. His life was cut short on August 20, 2014, when he was lured to a tragic end.
The events leading to McCullough's death began with a fight he had with Joseph Hutcherson, then 23, of East New York.
A day after their initial altercation, Hutcherson contacted McCullough, asking to meet at an abandoned brownstone on Quincy Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant to talk things over. Unbeknownst to McCullough, the location was a stash house for the Gates Avenue Mafia gang.
Upon his arrival at approximately 12:45 a.m., McCullough was led into the basement by Hutcherson. Instead of a peaceful resolution, he was met with brutal violence. Hutcherson beat McCullough and then shot him in the lower spine and the back of the head. McCullough was rushed to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Following the murder, Hutcherson attempted to evade capture by hiding out in a Coney Island apartment. His downfall came when he discussed the shooting during a phone call with a man whose phone was being tapped by the police. This crucial piece of evidence led to his arrest. During the trial, a witness also testified that Hutcherson had confessed the crime to his mother.
In December 2017, a jury in Brooklyn Criminal Court found Joseph Hutcherson guilty of murder and criminal possession of a weapon. In January 2018, he was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison for the senseless and cold-hearted act of violence that took the life of another man.
