By Rebecca Henely
A Queensbridge woman pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court to fatally shooting her sister at her sibling’s 27th birthday last Thursday, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
The manslaughter plea by Melanie Webb, 25, marks the first conviction of three murders to occur in Queensbridge Houses this year.
Webb shot her sister Tara Webb March 26, the night of Tara Webb’s 27th birthday at about 2:19 a.m. The shooting occurred in the apartment they both shared at 40-07 12th St. in Queensbridge Houses with Tara Webb’s 4-year-old son, the DA said. Melanie Webb also shot Tara Webb’s boyfriend, 26-year-old Terrell Carmichael, who was wounded but survived the attack, the DA said.
Melanie Webb pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Queens Supreme Court before Justice Richard Buchter, the DA said. Buchter plans to sentence Webb to 25 years in prison, the DA said.
“The defendant’s admission of guilt in the violent death of her sister ensures that she is held responsible for her actions and that she will serve a lengthy prison sentence,” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “It also spares the victim’s young son from the trauma of having to relive the day he witnessed the dreadful death of his beloved mother by his aunt.”
Police said at the time of Melanie Webb’s arrest that Tara Webb had been shot once in the chest and Carmichael had been shot twice. They were both taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where Tara Webb was pronounced dead on arrival, the DA said.
Candles and “Happy Birthday” balloons had been placed outside the entrance to the apartment building on the day of her death, but few residents knew much about the slaying.
Tara Webb’s killing was the second of three murders that took place in the Long Island City housing project, which is bordered by Queens Plaza North, 21st Street, 40th Avenue and the East River.
The first murder occurred Jan. 29, when Rochdale resident Clarence Williamson, 39, was shot at the corner of 41st Avenue and 12th Street. NYPD is searching for Devon Smith, a 27-year-old black man with braids who is about 5 feet 6 inches and weighs about 180 pounds, in connection with the crime, authorities said.
The third murder of the year occurred July 5 when 19-year-old Mark Torres was shot in the head following a Fourth of July barbecue. Police said Barrington Grant, 22, is the prime suspect in Torres’ killing. Grant is described as a black man standing 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 195 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, police said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
