Officials identify Mass. homicide victim whose remains were found in apartment

GREENFIELD, Mass. (TCD) — Officials recently identified a Massachusetts homicide victim following a 42-year-old man’s arrest in New York state last week.

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan announced that on Monday, April 22, officers with the Greenfield Police Department responded to an apartment on Chapman Street about a “foul odor.” Officials found the body of a male and identified 42-year-old Taaniel Herberger-Brown as the primary suspect. Herberger-Brown is reportedly a former tenant of the home where the remains were located.

Later that night, Greenfield Police and Massachusetts State Police detectives with the district attorney’s office went to Albany International Airport to interview Herberger-Brown.

According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Herberg-Brown told police a man allegedly broke into his home and tried to fight with him. Herberg-Brown believed the man was on drugs and reportedly said the victim’s “heart stopped” toward the end of the fight.

Authorities apprehended Herberger-Brown overnight, and Sullivan said state police obtained a warrant for his arrest on a charge of murder on Tuesday, April 23.

Herberg-Brown reportedly declined to be brought back to Massachusetts. He is set to appear in court in Albany this month for an extradition hearing.

Sullivan announced on Friday, April 26, that the victim had been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Hairston, who was last known to be in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Authorities said the chief medical examiner will determine Hairston’s cause of death.

According to his obituary, Hairston was an “exceptional and naturally talented percussionist” with a “fun-loving spirit,” a “big, open heart, infectious laugh,” and a “deep understanding of rhythm and being ‘in the pocket’ as he would say.”

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