Quantcast

Astoria husband admits to killing wife: Brown

Astoria husband admits to killing wife: Brown
By Colin DeVries

A 32-year-old Astoria man pleaded guilty last week to fatally bludgeoning his wife with a baseball bat while she was sleeping in the couple’s Astoria apartment in January.

Jordan Hawes, a Manhattan chef living in Astoria’s Carver Arms building, at 26-80 30th St., admitted to killing his 33-year-old wife Tara Hawes, whom he called his “best friend” in a bloody note investigators recovered in the apartment, according to a statement released by the Queens district attorney’s office.

“This is a sad and tragic case in which a young woman’s life was cut short for no reason by the man who she should have been able to trust more than anyone: her husband,” said DA Richard Brown.

Jordan Hawes pleaded to one count of first-degree manslaughter and acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt agreed to imprison him for 25 years when he is sentenced later this month.

On Feb. 2, the body of Tara Hawes was discovered in the couple’s bedroom, the district attorney said, and had extreme blunt force trauma to the head and body. Investigators later found two bloody knives and a baseball bat covered in blood, skin and hair in the apartment. Jordan Hawes admitted to hitting Tara Hawes in the head repeatedly with the baseball bat Jan. 30 while she was asleep, the DA said.

Police investigators also found a blood-stained note in the apartment reading, in part: “Where to begin. My life has been great most of the time. I was raised perfectly by mom and dad, and I have learned so much from child—”

The note abruptly cutoff and was partly missing, the DA said, then continued, “I don’t know what … happened last night, but my life is destroyed. I killed my best friend.”

In the days following the gruesome discovery of Tara Hawes, a manhunt was launched to find her husband, who was a person of interest in the case at the time. The NYPD sent transmissions throughout the tri-state area in search of Jordan Hawes.

On Feb. 4, Connecticut State Police in Bridgeport pinged Jordan Hawes’ cell phone and pinpointed his location along Interstate 95 southbound at a rest area, according to an incident report. State police, along with Fairfield, Conn. police officers, responded to the rest area around 11:30 p.m. to find Tara Hawes’ gray 2008 Jeep in the parking lot. Jordan Hawes was inside the rest area McDonald’s and taken into custody.

Jordan Hawes did not resist police and, according to the district attorney’s office, told arresting officers, “I did something wrong. I surrender myself.”

He then suffered an apparent seizure, the DA said, and was taken to Bridgeport Hospital. After his recovery, he was extradited to Queens.

Surveillance cameras had caught Jordan Hawes attempting to sell his wife’s jewelry and wedding band in the days following her killing, the DA said.

He remains in custody with the city Department of Correction until his sentencing March 16.