Harlem Man Testifies In 'Suicide-For-Hire' Trial
EAST MEADOW, NY (WCBS 880) - Was it murder or suicide for hire? That's the question in a Manhattan courtroom where Kenneth Minor is facing murder charges.
Mel Fleming, described as a conman from Harlem, testified that motivational speaker Jeffrey Locker was shopping around for a hitman when Fleming was approached, reports WCBS 880's Irene Cornell.
WCBS 880's Irene Cornell with details from the courtroom
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Fleming was panhandling for quarters in a Harlem diner when Locker gave him five dollars and a startling proposition.
Locker said he wanted to be killed, testified Fleming, but it had to look like a robbery and murder.
Fleming told the court he had no intention of killing Locker, but he took $2,000 of up front money and told him it would cost him over $10,000 to get "whacked."
Then, he drove around with Locker looking for a good spot for this killing.
In the end, Fleming got a total of $4,000 cash, some gold jewelry and knives to pawn and skipped out on the plan to kill Locker.
"I didn't kill him, that's the main thing," said Fleming.
Locker got what he wanted when he found the defendant Kenneth Minor who is now on trial for murder.
