Brigitte Harris (born June 6, 1981) is an American woman from

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, who was convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

in the

castration Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...

of her father, Eric Goodridge, in her Rockaway apartment. Both Harris and her sister, Carleen Goodridge, claimed to have been

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

and

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

by their father since childhood. Due to her abuse allegations, Brigitte received an outpouring of support from public figures including

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

and

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Diane Savino Diane J. Savino (born September 28, 1963) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 23rd Senate District in the New York State Senate, in northern Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, ...

and

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...

. Harris was sentenced to five to fifteen years in prison, but was released after serving three years.

Early life

Brigitte Harris was born on June 6, 1981, in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, to Liberian immigrant parents. She lived in an apartment in Park Hill with her mother until age 2, at which point she was abandoned by her mother and subsequently moved in with her father, Eric Goodridge, in

Bay Shore Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. When her father later moved back to his home country, Brigitte moved around with relatives. Harris reports being physically abused by her grandmother and

by a cousin. During a family trip to Liberia, Harris confronted her mother about the abuse at Eric's hands, but Eric denied the allegations and claimed that his daughter was mentally ill. Harris moved out at age 17 and, at the time of the incident, was working as a security guard at

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

Crime

After several years of estrangement from her father, Harris was contacted by her sister, Carleen Goodridge, who claimed that Eric wanted to talk to them. When Harris arrived, she saw one of her nieces sitting on Eric's lap, leading to an argument with Carleen considering his past abuse of the sisters when they were children. Eric informed Harris that he had decided to take his granddaughters with him back to Liberia against their will. On July 28, 2007, Harris confronted Eric in her Rockaway apartment and attempted to convince him not to take the girls. After the conversation became heated, Harris handcuffed her father to a chair, gagged him with a towel to prevent him from screaming, and throttled him to death. She also cut off his penis using a

scalpel A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various arts and crafts (either called a hobby knife or an X-acto knife.). Scalpels may be single-use disposa ...

; investigators believed that he was already dead when this happened. She later threw the severed penis under the

Rockaway Boardwalk The Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk is a public park in Rockaway, Queens, New York, composed of the Rockaway Beach and the adjacent Rockaway Boardwalk. The beach runs from Beach 9th Street in Far Rockaway to Beach 149th Street in Neponsit, a dis ...

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

. Upon dialing

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

and informing the operator of Eric's condition, Harris claimed that she was on her way to the police station, but never showed up. Instead, she contacted Carleen and told her what she had done; Carleen advised her to come to her home instead of turning herself in. When Harris arrived, Carleen called an ambulance. After seeing Harris with the scalpel in hand and still in

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

, the sisters decided to check Harris into the

Richmond University Medical Center Richmond University Medical Center is a hospital in West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York City. The hospital occupies the buildings that were formerly St. Vincent's Medical Center, which closed in 2006. It is affiliated with the Icahn School ...

psychiatric ward Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. Carleen hired defense attorney Arthur L. Aidala to represent Harris, who subsequently told him about the sexual abuse she and her sister suffered by Eric. She explained how, in some African cultures, fathers are entitled to taking their daughters'

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

: "He said he was doing it because he loves me and that is how fathers show love to their daughters," Brigitte said. Carleen admitted that she was sexually abused by Eric as well, but had been too afraid to say something. She set up a website called savebridget.com to raise money for her sister's

legal defense In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat ...

Investigation

After being discharged from the psychiatric ward on August 16, 2007, Harris was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree

and was held at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

. Harris, who had referred to herself as "Lady Vengeance" and "The Original Dark Angel" on her MySpace page, claimed that she had not intended to kill her father. "I felt that I had to stop him," "take away his weapon".

Trial

Two years after her

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

for second-degree murder, Harris went to trial in September 2009. Testifying in her own defense, Harris stated that she had researched the 1993 castration case of

John and Lorena Bobbitt John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Prosecutors maintained that Harris' actions towards her father showed

premeditation Malice aforethought is the "premeditation" or "predetermination" (with malice) required as an element of some crimes in some jurisdictions and a unique element for first-degree or aggravated murder in a few. Insofar as the term is still in use, ...

. Harris argued that her

motive Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to: * Motive (law) Film and television * ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller * ''The Motive'' (film), 2017 * ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series * ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...

for the killing was not revenge, but an act to prevent Goodridge from taking his granddaughters to Liberia and likely molesting them. On September 30, 2009, the jury found Harris guilty of the

lesser included offense In criminal law, a lesser included offense is a crime for which all of the elements necessary to impose liability are also elements found in a more serious crime. It is also used in non-criminal violations of law, such as certain classes of tr ...

of second-degree manslaughter. One juror reported that, "None of us felt that she deserved to get any murder charges or anything. So we decided on second-degree manslaughter." Despite jury letters, Queens Supreme Court Judge Arthur Cooperman sentenced Harris to the

maximum In mathematical analysis, the maxima and minima (the respective plurals of maximum and minimum) of a function, known collectively as extrema (the plural of extremum), are the largest and smallest value of the function, either within a given ran ...

of five to fifteen years in prison. After serving three years, she was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

on August 13, 2012.

Aftermath

Harris has reiterated that she did not intend to kill her father, and expressed a desire to work with the

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

STEPS to End Family Violence when she was released from prison. Her case was profiled on the

Oxygen Network Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, through its Cable Entertainment Group subsidiary. The channel primar ...

series ''

Snapped ''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment. The series depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge agains ...

'' in November 2010. The program features interviews from Harris, her attorney, Arthur L. Aidala, and her supporters. Her case was later profiled on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

(ID) program ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted by former ...

'' in the episode "Parents' Peril". Her case was also profiled on the TV One program ''Payback'', with Harris's name serving as the eponymous title of the first season's second episode.

References