New Castle Police Department Facebook Page Amari Wise
Connor and Todd Henry are the son-and-father duo being charged in connection with the shooting death of a missing Pennsylvania teen.
Police announced on Facebook that they’re accusing the New Castle men of killing Amari Wise, 19, whose remains were found Monday in Shenango Township. Lawrence County Coroner Richard Johnson ruled the teen’s death a homicide due to a gunshot wound to the head, according to New Castle News. Wise was reported missing on June 6.
The New Castle Police Criminal Investigation Unit filed charges of homicide and tampering with evidence against 20-year-old Connor, and conspiracy to commit homicide, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence against his father.
Todd, 47, was taken into custody at the New Castle Police Department after turning himself in on Monday afternoon, according to the department’s Facebook page.
Connor is currently in custody in Ocean City, Maryland, where he was arrested Sunday during a traffic stop, city authorities said in a press release.
Lawrence County District Attorney Josh Lamancusa disclosed Tuesday at a news conference that Connor waived his extradition hearing and will be brought back to the area in the coming days.
Here’s what you need to know about Connor and Todd Henry.
1. Wise Went Missing After a Dispute in the Henry Family’s Garage, Police Say
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Heavy, eyewitnesses told authorities that Connor shot and killed Wise the night of June 5 during an disagreement at the Henry family’s East Side garage.
The informants told investigators that Wise, who was sporting a fanny pack across his chest, got into an argument with someone after about 15 minutes.
The 19-year-old stood over the unidentified man, who was sitting on a couch, and threatened to shoot him, the complaint continued.
One witness recalled Wise putting his hand on his fanny pack, while the other said the gun was partly out of the fanny pack, when Connor shot him. The complaint states that Connor fired only once from behind with a black, semi-automatic handgun.
“Amari Wise arrived by himself. They were hanging out for approx. 10-15 minutes when Wise started arguing with another male,” police said in the complaint. “The argument became heated and Wise was standing over the other male, who was seated on a couch. (The informant) said that Wise had a fanny pack slung across his chest. Wise told the male he ‘was going to shoot him’ and put his hand on the fanny pack. At that time Connor Henry, who was standing behind Wise, shot Wise.”
The witnesses were not identified by detectives in the complaint. There is also no indication of what the argument was about.
Wise’s mother Anitra, who lived with the teen, reported her son missing the next day after she didn’t hear from him Friday night or Saturday morning.
Anitra told investigators that she tried repeatedly to reach him on his cell phone but it went to voicemail.
2. Police Followed Several Tips That Lead to the Henrys
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New Castle police entered the scene on June 7, court documents state, two days after Wise was last seen driving in a red Toyota Camry that was reported as an “unauthorized use.”
Investigators said they found the car in Union Township with a handgun in the driver’s side door pocket and cellphone on the front passenger seat, the complaint discloses.
Police said they soon received several tips pointing them to the Henrys and their garage.
On June 8, they went to the Henrys’ house, according to court records. Investigators described Todd as acting “nervous” by avoiding eye contact and continuing to “look at full bags of trash that were on the porch.”
After detectives obtained a search warrant, they seized two firearm magazines and a “spent bullet slug on the sidewalk in front of the residence.”
The complaint says police then confiscated two couch cushions and a pair of white sneakers from the house. They also took several swabs from the garage floor. All items tested positive for “the presence of blood,” the documents continue.
A witness approached authorities on June 11, explaining that he went to the garage on June 6 to purchase marijuana. The garage door was half open when he arrived, he told investigators, and someone was “pressure washing inside.”
June 5 surveillance video obtained by police shows a car registered in Todd’s name enter the same area where the Camry Wise was driving was found.
Investigators also found what appeared to be blood on the trunk lid of Todd’s Honda Accord and on the driver’s floor mat of the Camry. The items are being submitted to the State Police Lab in Greensburg for analysis, the complaint noted.
3. Connor is a Felon & Not Allowed to Have a Gun
GettyAmericans purchased a record number of guns in 2012.
Online court records show that Connor was previously arrested in March 2019 on charges of possession of a controlled substance, intent to deliver and/or manufacture a controlled substance and use of or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia for the purpose of “introducing into the human body a controlled substance.”
The complaint states that the 20-year-old is not legally permitted to own a gun and that the firearms are presumed to be his father’s.
Although felony convictions do not necessarily disqualify Pennsylvania residents from owning a gun, according to FindLaw, a person cannot purchase firearms if they:
Have been convicted of a violent crime (felony or misdemeanor);
Are an undocumented immigrant;
Are declared mentally ill by the court;
Are under 18 years old;
Are a drug addict or habitual drunkard;
Are a fugitive from justice;
Have been convicted of three separate DUI charges within a five-year period; or
Are subject to an active protection from abuse order.
The complaint reports that Todd has 11 handguns registered in his name, but none of them were found inside his house during the search.
4. Investigators Found a Single ‘Bone-Chilling’ Recording of a Gunshot
Breaking: New Castle Police say they have found the body of Amari Wise in a wooded area just off Pennsylvania Ave in Shenango Twp.
KDKA-TV | CBS Pittsburgh
Investigators located a nearby neighbor with a camera system. Complaint records state that the camera captured the sound of a single gunshot at 9:59 p.m. — the date is not disclosed.
The shot “is not muffled and sounds very clear,” investigators said in the complaint, followed by men’s voices yelling in a “panicked” manner.”
An unidentified witness told KDKA, “I heard a gunshot, heard them start panicking. It sounded like the dad told him to calm down and then go in the house.”
They said they knew Wise since he was a child, KDKA reported.
“It was bone-chilling to hear that, knowing that was his last breath,” the witness said.
5. Police Say Connor Fled the State Following the Shooting
SUSPECT ARRESTED: Ocean City Police have released this mugshot of Connor Henry, who is charged with criminal homicide and tampering with evidence in the disappearance of Amari Wise in New Castle.
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On Sunday, Connor was arrested by police in Ocean City, Maryland on a warrant during a traffic stop, according to a press release from the department. The Ocean City authorities tracked down the younger Henry’s whereabouts after receiving a tip he was staying in the area.
The Lawrence County district attorney said Tuesday at a news briefing, broadcast by CBSN Pittsburgh, that the 20-year-old will be brought back to the area within the next couple of days.
New Castle News reported that Todd turned himself in to local authorities Monday to face his charges of conspiracy to commit homicide, obstruction of justice and tampering with physical evidence.