MANHATTAN – Joseph Griffin, 26, was indicted on manslaughter charges for fatally striking 59-year-old Brenda/Kenneth Bostick with a metal object on 7th Avenue in Chelsea and then breaking the windshield of a taxi cab later that evening. Griffin is charged in a New York Supreme Court indictment with Manslaughter in the First Degree and Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree
“The defendant is charged with attacking Brenda/Kenneth Bostick with such force that it left a skull injury that caused the victim’s senseless and tragic death 12 days later,” said District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. “My Office is committed to ensuring that justice is served in Bostick’s memory.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, at approximately 10:00 p.m. on April 25, 2017, Griffin approached the victim—who identified as transgender and was alternately known as Brenda and Kenneth Bostick, or simply “Bostick”— on 7th Avenue between West 27th and 28th Streets and struck them over the head with a long, metal object. According to local media, the suspect accused the victim of stealing his backpack—there was no evidence to suggest that was true. The victim immediately fell to the ground and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. They were declared braindead on May 4 and died on May 7.
Meanwhile, the defendant had fled the scene. Approximately 90 minutes after assaulting the victim, Griffin was observed running through traffic in the middle of the street. When a taxi driver stopped his car to avoid hitting Griffin, the defendant approached his vehicle and climbed onto the front of the car, smashing his windshield.
