Of the seven homicides that occurred in Chautauqua County in 2024, five of them have arrests.

MARLON CLAY

On Jan. 24, Marlon Clay, 28, of Buffalo was discovered deceased at Parkview Apartments in Jamestown. He had been shot to death and his body was left there. The next day police said they had identified a suspect and he was taken into custody in Buffalo. That person was later identified as Darius Kadenhead, 33.

Kadenhead was later charged with second-degree homicide after the case was brought before a grand jury in July.

At that time, Schmidt discussed the details of the case. “Mr. Clay sustained a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. His body was later discovered by a tenant in the apartment complex who alerted police. What followed was an immediate, intensive investigation by members of Jamestown Police Department, the Chautauqua County Forensics Investigation Team and District Attorney’s Office, leading to the identification and apprehension of Mr. Kadenhead in Buffalo, New York three days later, on Jan. 25. Mr. Kadenhead’s apprehension was led by our own Jamestown detectives who, themselves, traveled into the city of Buffalo to make contact with Mr. Kadenhead in coordination with the Buffalo Police Department and the FBI,” he said.

During a recent follow-up interview, Schmidt said Kadenhead remains in custody in Erie County for a loaded gun possession charge. He said it’s likely the gun possession charge will go to trial before the murder trial in Chautauqua County.

Schmidt suspects in Chautauqua County the case will go to trial “in the third quarter of 2025.”

TREVON TRIPP

On March 18, Trevon Tripp, 26, of Dunkirk, was shot and killed at 839 Prendergast Ave., Jamestown.

Schmidt called the incident a “robbery gone bad,” where “one of the co-conspirators in the attempted robbery was killed.”

In that incident, three people have been indicted – William Hernandez of Jamestown, Juan Rivera of Jamestown, and Evan Nix of Amherst. All three have been charged with first-degree robbery. Rivera-Torres is also facing a loaded gun possession charge.

None of the three have been charged yet with murder, however Schmidt said the investigation is continuing.

He said he anticipates taking the three individuals to trial sometime in the “second to third quarter of 2025.”

ISAAC BENTON

Sixteen-month-old Isaac Benton of Jamestown died April 13 at UPMC Chautauqua.

Matthew E. Nuttall of Jamestown was taken into custody four days later. It is alleged that Nuttal threw the child into a Pack-and-Play portable crib because he was frustrated the baby wouldn’t stop crying. The child’s spinal cord was severed, which caused the child’s death.

Nuttall was indicted on May 30 on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges.

Schmidt said in that case, the discovery has been completed and they’re going into pre-trial hearings on the evidence and statements collected from the defendant. He said he expects a trial date shortly after the pre-trial hearings are completed.

MYA SMITH

Twelve-year-old Mya Smith of Silver Creek died April 29 due to complications of untreated diabetes. In November her mother Ashley Bertino of Silver Creek was arrested.

The indictments were unsealed on Jan. 6, showing Bertino had been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Smith also has two other children and the three counts of endangering the welfare of a child were for all three children.

ANIYAH TURK

Eight-month-old Aniyah Turk of Jamestown died on May 15 after being shaken and strangled on April 22 which caused catastrophic and unrecoverable injuries, requiring her hospitalization on life support until she eventually succumbed to her injuries.

Sean Thomas of Jamestown was arrested April 26 while the child was still alive.

In June, Thomas was indicted on second-degree murder and other charges.

There is a hearing later this month on this case. Schmidt said he could see this one going to trial this summer.

OTHER HOMICIDES

There were two other homicides in 2024 in which no arrests have been made.

Corey Johnson, 25, of Jamestown was shot Aug. 16 in a parking lot of an establishment on North Main Street. He was taken to Hamot Medical Hospital in Erie where he later died.

Doug Howie, 68, of Jamestown was shot in the area of Newland and Forest avenues, Jamestown.

Schmidt said they have a different “person of interest” for the deaths of both Johnson and Howie.

There are two other deaths from 2024 that Schmidt has labeled as “suspicious” and are being investigated to see if they were homicides. The names of the deceased individuals have not been released.