A cannibal in Connecticut has been granted conditional release from a psychiatric hospital after brutally killing a man with an axe, eating one of his eyeballs, and part of his brain.
Tyree Smith had been found “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” in 2013 and sent to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown for “up to 60 years” for the murder and cannibalism of 43-year-old Angel Gonzalez.
Smith was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been abusing drugs and alcohol at the time of the murder.
The Hartford Courant reports:
Gonzalez’s decomposed body was found in an abandoned building on Brooks Street in Bridgeport on Jan. 20, 2012. He had suffered severe wounds to his face and head.
Three days later, Smith’s cousin, Nicole Rabb, told police Smith arrived at her house in mid-December and said he had “to get blood on his hands,” the arrest warrant affidavit, according to Courant archives. He was going to Beardsley Park and his former home on Brooks Street, the Courant reported. The next day he returned with blood on his pants and carrying an ax saying he wanted to take a bath.
Rabb said Smith told her he was sleeping on the second-floor porch of 216 Brooks St. when a man invited him to the third floor to get out of the cold, archives said. Smith said he then beat the man with the ax so severely that he was able to remove an eye from the man’s head along with pieces of brain matter and a piece of his skull, the Courant reported.
According to previous Courant reports, Smith then went to Lakeview Cemetery, where he said “he ate the eyeball, which tasted like an oyster, and the brain matter,” according to the warrant affidavit.
The Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board issued the decision to allow Smith’s release on Friday.
“The board previously determined that Mr. Smith has demonstrated long-term stability, remained engaged in all recommended treatments, and consistently followed his care plan,” Vanessa Cardella, a spokesperson for the board, said in a statement obtained by the Hartford Courant. “His release will be conditional, ensuring that he remains under structured supervision and continues receiving the necessary mental health services.”
“Before being considered for conditional release, individuals first go through a temporary leave process, where they remain under hospital supervision while gradually increasing their time in the community,” Cardella added. “This phased approach ensures stability before conditional release, allowing individuals to build relationships with outpatient providers while maintaining high levels of oversight. Conditional release continues this supervision with strict conditions to prioritize both public safety and the individual’s ongoing treatment. Rehabilitation, not punishment, is the goal for all individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity.”
Gonzalez’s family adamantly opposed the cannibal’s release.
Republican State Sens. Heather Somers, Paul Cicarella, Henri Martin and Stephen Harding issued a joint condemnation of the decision.
“Outrageous. Mind-boggling. This individual killed and ate part of his victim and was found not guilty by reason of insanity,” the statement read. “His victim’s family raised objections about his release. What about them? Where is the justice for them?”
“This terrible decision puts public safety in jeopardy and is yet another terrible message to send to CT violent crime victims and their families. This person should never be out,” the state senators added. “We are dumbfounded at this injustice. In what universe is this ok?”
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