Chaos erupts at arraignment for Bridgeport murder suspect
Johnnie Newkirk went before a judge on Wednesday at Bridgeport Superior Court. He was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the deadly stabbing of 41-year-old Willesha Riddick.
Emotions erupted Wednesday as the family of a Bridgeport woman confronted the man accused of killing her.
Johnnie Newkirk went before a judge on Wednesday at Bridgeport Superior Court. He was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the deadly stabbing of 41-year-old Willesha Riddick.
The hearing lasted less than three minutes but ended in chaos with family members of both the victim and defendant yelling at each other as Newkirk was led out of the courtroom. Several marshals were there and stepped in to separate the groups and keep things from further escalating.
Bridgeport police took Newkirk into custody Tuesday afternoon following an investigation. Police were called on June 9 to a rooming house in the 300 block of Park Avenue between Atlantic Street and Gregory Street. When officers arrived, they found Riddick bleeding and unresponsive on the porch. She was rushed to the hospital but didn't survive.
“Some of the concerning factors in this particular case are that the allegations involve tampering with evidence and also may involve tampering with a witness in this particular case,” senior assistant state's attorney Edward Lee Miller told the judge. “He was observed on surveillance video discarding the weapon in question.”
According to Newkirk's arrest warrant, that weapon was a kitchen knife, which security cameras captured Newkirk wiping down and then throwing by a tree near the house. Police said the incident started as an argument that escalated.
“The warrant also indicates that the decedent may have been the aggressor,” stated assistant public defender Joanna Carloni, who represented Newkirk.
That's what Newkirk said during his police interview. Per the warrant, he admitted the two of them got into a fight and were "tussling on the floor," but claimed Riddick initiated it and was the one swinging a knife. When police asked if he thought she stabbed herself, he told them it was possible.
He also said Riddick stabbed him. The warrant noted Newkirk had two scratches above his right eye and on the side of his nose, but the injuries were "minor and not consistent with a typical stabbing injury."
In court, the judge kept Newkirk's bond at $1.5 million, which led to clapping from one of Riddick's relatives.
“Whoa, this isn't Seaside Park,” Judge Charles Stango admonished the gallery. Stango’s words quieted everyone briefly before things intensified as the hearing concluded.
Newkirk is due back in court on July 7.
