Murder Suspect: White Woman Had to Die
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A homeless ex-convict accused of killing a 56-year-old woman in a parking garage near a suburban mall told police that he was fighting a race war and killed her because she was white.
The man, Phillip Grant, 43, appeared at a court hearing Tuesday in shackles and a bulletproof vest. In a 45-minute videotape played during the hearing, Grant told police, "All I knew was she had blond hair and blue eyes and she had to die."
Grant, who is black, claimed Connie Russo-Carriero (search) "was not an innocent victim — because she was white."
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Russo-Carriero, a legal secretary and mother of two grown children, was stabbed to death last Wednesday afternoon while walking to her car at a parking garage next to the Galleria Mall. She was buried Tuesday.
Grant was charged with second-degree murder and weapon possession. Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said he could also be charged with a hate crime.
On the tape, Grant, a convicted rapist, said he was sick of being harassed on the street for being a registered sex offender. He also complained that Westchester County (search) never helped him with his mental problems.
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He also told police he was not remorseful for the killing and would hurt white people again if he could.
He told the judge in court Tuesday that he had wanted a journalist and his lawyer at the videotaping but they weren't there.
The judge ordered the case to go before a grand jury.
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Grant served more than 20 years in prison and is labeled as a "level 3" sex offender, the most serious classification.