Connecticut cannibal suspect to appear in court

A Connecticut man accused of hacking a homeless man to death and eating part of his brain was due to be arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge, the Connecticut Post reported.

Tyree Lincoln Smith, 35, is accused of killing Angel "Tun Tun" Gonzalez with an ax last December and removing the man's eyeballs and part of his brain.

Smith, of Ansonia, is said to have consumed the dismembered organs in a local cemetery at the site of his cousin's grave.

Gonzalez's mutilated body lay undiscovered until January, when it was found inside a vacant apartment in Bridgeport, Conn., 65 miles northeast of New York City.

Smith was arrested last month in Lynn Haven, Fla., where he was held on $1 million bond, until police escorted him back to Bridgeport on Tuesday. He is being represented by a public defender.

Smithl, who is believed to have a history of mental health problems, faces up to 60 years in jail if convicted in Bridgeport Superior Court on Wednesday morning.

Smith had warned his cousin, Nicole Rabb, that he was going to kill someone hours before Gonzalez was murdered, Rabb told police.

In an interview with the newspaper, Rabb acknowledged that she did not act immediately to stop Smith in the hours leading up to the killing. But Rabb also told the newspaper she did not take her cousin's warning seriously, saying the threat sounded much like past crazy ramblings.

"Who the hell would think you could be related to someone like this?" she told the newspaper.

"I mean, I've heard of Hannibal Lecter, but I never thought I could have someone in my family who would actually eat someone."

Click for more on this story from the Connecticut Post

Newscore contributed to this report.