Two Old Mill Court residents were convicted Friday of killing a Yonkers woman and shooting her daughter and husband in April 2010.
Charles Parsley, 28, and Kasaun White, 29, both of Old Mill Court, were found guilty in the second-degree murder of Sandra Hackley, 36, and the shooting of her husband and 12-year-old daughter.
They face a maximum of 25 years to life in state prison and will be sentenced on May 22. The duo were convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and first-degee burglary — all felonies.
According to a press release from the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, on April 21, 2010, Hackley returned to her apartment in Yonkers around 7:30 p.m.
White was recorded on video surveillance entering the apartment building dressed as a UPS delivery man. Parsley, who was dressed in street clothes, was caught on the building's lobby cameras pacing back and forth and looking out towards the street, prior to the arrival of Hackley, her family and White.
Rockville Centre Lieutenant Jim Vafeades, who attended the trial, said that Hackley's family was coincidentally waiting for a UPS package delivery and buzzed in White.
When Hackley's husband, Rafael Cornielle, opened the door to accept the "delivery," Vafeades said Parsley and White pushed it in and opened fire. A struggle with Cornielle and the two shooters ensued, and Cornielle was shot three times. During the melee, Hackley's 12-year-old daugher was shot in the leg and Parsley accidentally shot White. Vafeades said White and Parsley then put Hackley on her knees and shot her five times execution style.
Vafeades said that Parsley shooting White was key to their conviction since hosptial surveillance videos showed White receiving treatment for the wound at Mercy Medical Center hours after the Yonkers shooting. White told the court he had been shot in Hempstead.
“These defendants planned and carried out the murder of a woman, the shooting of her husband and twelve-year-old daughter, then calmly left the crime scene and were driven off," said Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore after the jury’s verdict.
Police said the two gunmen fled through the front door of the building, out onto Yonkers Avenue, where witnesses saw them enter a dark-colored pick up truck and flee. A third suspect, alleged getaway driver English Thomas, 28, of Uniondale, was arrested and charged with ten felony counts of murder, attempted murder, burglary, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence.
Thomas, who police said is a cousin of White, is awaiting trial.
Vafeades said Hackley's daughter was a hero in the fatal shooting. She called the police after the attack — even though she was shot — and identified the two shooters in court, he said. He added that Parsley and White's motive to kill Hackley was never revealed in court.
Vafeades explained that it is up to the judge to determine the length of White and Parsley's sentence. "We are hoping for 40 or more," he said. "But it looks like they'll be away for a long time."
White and Parsley will appeal the conviction, but no official appeal has been filed.
