Police have charged a bloodthirsty murderer with a rash of random slashings in Harlem that claimed the lives of two people.
On Friday, Dr. Bruce Maurice Henry, a respected pediatrician, was found dead in a pool of blood at Marcus Garvey Park on a stairway shortly after 2:00 a.m. His throat had been slashed, and he’d been stabbed multiple times.
Hours later, 35-year-old Roland Codrington was spotted driving the victims’ 2021 Mercedes Benz. The suspect was found with four other people but told police to “let them go,” as he was the one behind the slaying. As authorities worked to piece together a motive, they learned that Dr. Henry was not the only victim of Codrington.
His murderous reign began on December 19th when he fatally slit the throat of James Cunningham as he was leaving a bar. Cunningham was found dead on Avenue A near East 13th Street around 1:00 a.m. with a 10-inch slash wound across the neck. On December 22nd, just days after his first murder, Codrington entered Teddy’s Bar & Grill on Second Avenue, holding a baseball bat and a pit bull. He then attacked the bartender and two others with the bat before stabbing them. After the bar stabbings, Codrington allegedly went home before going for a walk to “cool off.” It was at some point during this stroll that he encountered Dr. Henry. The two had some sort of exchange, though it is not immediately known the full extent of it. At that point, the deranged man killed the physician.
While there is not yet a motive established for the doctor’s death, investigators believe Codrington had a previous argument with employees at Teddy’s, which may have led to him returning to kill anyone he encountered.
Thankfully, members of the 30 precinct spotted Dr. Henry’s stolen vehicle on December 24th and were able to stop the murder spree before others were injured. Codrington was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, a count of assault in the second degree, and a count of criminal mischief. Police have described all the attacks as unprovoked.
