Bridgeport Woman Accused Of Using Car To Crush Ex To Death

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A Bridgeport woman has been arrested and charged with crushing her former boyfriend to death.

If police know, they aren't saying what triggered the violent assault.

But they have charged 21-year-old Cherelle Baldwin with the murder of her former boyfriend, Jeffrey Brown, 24.

Police spokesman Bill Kaempffer said in the driveway of the multi-family home where the two once lived, Baldwin took aim at Brown with her red Pontiac G6 and crushed him to death against a cinderblock wall 100 feet down the driveway.

"Based on what the experts said, they couldn't find any indication, I would assume based on skid marks or anything, that she attempted to apply the brakes," Kaempffer told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.

Baldwin was arrested Monday after a three-week investigation found no evidence to support her various accounts of what happened on May 18, police said.

In fact, police say there was every indication that Baldwin accelerated.

The crash pushed the wall back more than 10 inches.

Brown was pinned between the car and wall when police and firefighters arrived. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, police said. Baldwin suffered a leg injury when the car hit Brown and the wall, police said.

Baldwin was detained on $1 million bail and was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court. It's not clear if she has a lawyer.

Police Chief Joseph Gaudett Jr. said it took a few weeks for authorities to determine that criminal charges were warranted.

``Detective Heitor Teixeira interviewed a large number of people to get a clear understanding of what happened, and work by the Crime Scene Unit and accident investigators was key to getting to the truth,'' Gaudett said in a statement.

Police said they are treating the case as a domestic homicide.

Baldwin and Brown were once domestic partners who bore a son who is now 2-years-old. Police said they very often responded to domestic violence complaints between the two at the very house where Brown was killed.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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