A night of singing outside her Bronx apartment building turned into a tragedy for Verbena Burgess and her family on March 16, 2014. What began as a joyful expression of music quickly escalated into a fatal confrontation that would end the life of her 24-year-old son, Tony Burgess, a male who was simply coming to the defense of his mother.
Verbena was singing a Chris Brown song in front of her Morris Avenue residence when a group of men began to harass her, shouting obscenities and
throwing bottles and paper at her. After she threatened to call the police, she rang her apartment's buzzer, and her sons, including Tony, came downstairs to confront the men.
The initial confrontation in the building's lobby turned violent. In the ensuing struggle, Tony Burgess was shot in the head. He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. In the immediate aftermath, no arrests were made, leaving a grieving family and a community searching for answers. The senselessness of the act was a sentiment echoed by those who knew Tony, describing him as a sweet man who kept to himself and was protective of his mother.
Years later, justice was served in the case. Daquan Lanier was arrested in connection with the shooting. On October 11, 2016, Lanier pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. According to the investigation, Lanier and two other men had been ridiculing Verbena Burgess. After the initial altercation with her sons, Lanier and his friends retreated, only for Lanier to return minutes later with a gun. He fired a single shot, striking Tony Burgess in the back of the head as he was fleeing. On November 2, 2016, a judge sentenced Daquan Lanier to 20 years in prison, with five years of post-release supervision, for the death of Tony Burgess.
