Man Arrested For Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend And Killing Her Friend With Ax

The Bushwick Houses

A pregnant woman was killed and her friend was repeatedly stabbed early Saturday in a Brooklyn public housing complex, and police said both women were attacked by an ax-wielding suspect. The friend's ex-boyfriend was arrested, after he was interviewed by a TV producer.

Jerry Brown, who calls himself the "Grim Creepa," told PIX 11 he didn't remember what happened: "Somebody woke me up. I have a staple in my head. I woke up on the floor. I was drifting in and out of consciousness. I was on the floor in the hallway of a building... I woke up and was trying to crawl. My head was busted, my lip was busted and my hand is cut."

Authorities arrived to the Bushwick Houses around 1:30 a.m. on April 20th, when the friend, Angela Valle, "flag[ged]" an Uber driver. The driver called 911 upon seeing Valle, who was apparently stabbed on her head, chest, arms, stomach, and throat. Valle was taken to a hospital for her life-threatening injuries, but managed to tell first responders that Savannah Rivera was in her apartment at 811 Flushing Avenue.

Police went to Valle's 8th floor apartment, where they found Rivera, 20, dead with stab wounds all over her body. She was reportedly nearly decapitated, and Valle's four-year-old daughter was found uninjured in a bedroom.

Rivera's family say she was 9 weeks pregnant.

Authorities found an ax in the trash compactor of the building, and employees of a nearby hardware store told the Post that the $39.98 ax was sold there. "It was purchased on our store. I recognize it by price tag," a Florama worker said. "The cops showed me a picture they took of it, it is our price tag." Another employee said the buyer "asked if there is a cheaper one. Then he asked if we can sharpen it for him. I said it’s sharp enough as is. I left him looking at it."

When PIX 11 spoke to Brown on Saturday, he told the station that he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and has bipolar disorder.

The boyfriend, who could be heard sniffling and crying on the phone call, wanted to know if his girlfriend was "okay."

PIX11 News told him that she is still fighting for her life.

Jerry continued to cry, and said he and Angela Valle have been together for seven or eight months.

He then asked, "What do you think I should do?"

PIX11 urged the man who said he was scared because he doesn't want to "commit suicide"— to turn himself in to police.

After repeating that he really needs his medication, he asked if the police would give him his medicine.

PIX then asked if he knew anything about an axe.

After a brief moment of silence, the man with a self-professed injured hand said—no.

After a continued exchange, the boyfriend asked for the telephone number to the 90 Precinct.

"I will turn myself in. I'll call the police myself," the boyfriend said with a quivering voice.

Brown contacted the police, who then charged him with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder. Neighbors said that they had heard Valle and Brown arguging in Valle's apartment. Valle apparently once posted a social media comment calling him "Mr. 187," using the California penal code number for murder.

According to the NY Times, "Before Sunday, Mr. Brown had been arrested 13 times, according to public records. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in 2003, after a witness told police she saw him shoot someone in the chest in a Williamsburg park in August 2002, according to state prison records and a criminal complaint. He served about seven years in prison for the shooting, and after his release in 2009, returned to prison three times for parole violations, according to corrections records."

Rivera, who had a three-year-old son, have moved into Valle's apartment two months ago. Her grandmother, Elsa Collazo, told the Daily News, "For two months I told her to come back. [She and Valle] were best friends. Since they were young."

"She didn’t have to die like that. It’s hard. Every time I think about it, I want to cry," Rivera's aunt Margaret Cruz said to the NY Times. "I want to go over there and squeeze him, ‘Tell me, why? Why would you do this to her?’"