BUFFALO, N.Y. — A superseding federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday morning against several alleged drug dealers now accuses two of them, Jariel Cobb, 47, and Deandre Wilson 49, of killing three people who traveled from Florida to Buffalo nearly one year ago.
The bodies of two of the victims, Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud were found in a burned out van behind a warehouse on Tonawanda Street on September 16, 2019.
The couple's 3-year-old son, Noelvin, was found unharmed that same morning on a porch at a home on Buffalo's west side.
The case is also memorable because of video surveillance, which appears to have captured the toddler being lead away from the burning van by two individuals. Prosecutors said on Tuesday that the two men in the video were Cobb and Wilson.
Remains, later identified as those Dhamyl Roman-Audiffred, a friend of the couple who traveled with them, were discovered in a fire pit behind a home on Box Avenue.
Potential Death Penalty Case
By the wording of the indictment, it appears that Wilson is accused of being the trigger man in all three homicides.
Both he and Cobb now face charges including murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, which makes them eligible for prosecution under the federal death penalty statute.
The U.S. Attorney for Western New York, James Kennedy, said the decision on whether to proceed with such a prosecution lays with Justice Department officials in Washington.
"We've had consultations with the committee within this office as recently as yesterday as part of that process," Kennedy said. " Ultimately, that decision is up to the Attorney General."
New Details Emerge on Slayings
Prosecutors revealed for the first time on Tuesday that they believe the victims were killed one day before the first of their remains were discovered, and at a location that was not at the place where they were found.
"All three victims were murdered at 4 Roebling Avenue on September 15, 2019," Kennedy said. " Roman-Audiffred was murdered first inside that residence, then Miguel Anthony Valentin-Colon and Nicole Marie Merced-Plaud were killed as they waited in the van with their son outside the residence."
A Wild Trail of Evidence
Both Cobb and Wilson have been in custody for nearly a year after they and several others were rounded up in drug raids last October.
However, it took law enforcers several additional months to gather the evidence they believed was sufficient to charge them in connection with the homicides.
Kennedy would not discuss the evidence other than to say, "that evidence has literally been recovered from locations ranging from the depths of Lake Erie, to the cloud of Google and everyplace in between."
Prosecutors Say Victims Were Involved in Drug Trade
The indictment refers to all three homicide victims as "individuals engaged in the unlawful possession and distribution of controlled substances, including cocaine," and indeed the defendants are charged with robbing them of same, allegedly as part of a drug deal gone awry.
You can read the indictment here:
