A Queens grand jury has indicted three individuals on charges of murder, conspiracy, and other crimes in connection with the cold case stabbing death of 17-year-old Talasia Cuffie.
Cuffie was fatally attacked after attending a 2019 memorial basketball game honoring Aamir Griffin, a 14-year-old who had been shot and killed at the Baisley Park Houses. Prosecutors allege that the defendants lured Cuffie to a secluded block in South Jamaica, where she was stabbed and left bleeding on the street for more than 20 minutes before she was discovered.
Tiana Benjamin, 29, of 110th Road in Jamaica, and Kyra Tyrell, 22, of Clarkson Avenue in Brooklyn, were arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court. A third defendant, Charles Gillespie, 24, of 100th Road in Jamaica, is currently incarcerated on another matter and is expected to be arraigned at a later date.
According to the indictment, the murder was allegedly motivated by the mistaken belief that Cuffie was pregnant with Gillespie’s child. Authorities have clarified that the murders of Cuffie and Griffin are unrelated.
According to the charges and investigation, on the night of Nov. 15, 2019, Tyrell messaged Benjamin through Facebook Messenger and told her to be dressed in all black. Between 7:17 p.m. and 9:17 p.m. that night, the defendants allegedly communicated through Facebook and phone texts to “get” Talasia Cuffie to a location on 166th Street. At 9:07 p.m., Tyrell and Benjamin were on 166th Street in South Jamaica monitoring the area and contacted Gillespie. At 9:20 p.m., Tyrell and Benjamin allegedly stabbed Cuffie twice, once in the abdomen and once in the groin. Gillespie is alleged to have then transported Tyrell and Benjamin in a car to Benjamin’s residence in South Jamaica. Gillespie was dating Tyrell at the time of the fatal stabbing and was also in a relationship with Cuffie.
The victim had claimed she had become pregnant, which angered Tyrell and Gillespie. Gillespie urged her to have an abortion. Autopsy results showed that Cuffie had never been pregnant.
“Approximately an hour after the memorial, the victim was persuaded by the defendants to go to a quiet residential block where they mercilessly stabbed her in the abdomen and groin,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The gravely injured 17-year-old was abandoned on the sidewalk before she was found and taken to a nearby hospital where she passed away.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder ordered Benjamin and Tyrell to return to court on April 22. If convicted, the three defendants each face up to 25 years to life in prison.
“At the Queens District Attorney’s Office, we never give up on our cases, and with today’s arraignment, we are one step closer in delivering justice for Talasia and her loved ones,” Katz said.
In April 2024, Sean Brown was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the shooting death of Aamir Griffin.
