Press Releases
03/02/2023
Jessica Keene and Quahzier Bouie Sentenced in 2018 death of Michael Keene in Windsor Locks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, CT) - Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford State’s Attorney, announced today that Jessica Keene and Quahzier Bouie have been sentenced in the 2018 death of Michael Keene in Windsor Locks.
Keene, age 28, was sentenced today in Hartford Superior Court by the Honorable David P. Gold to 20 years in prison suspended after the service of seven years with five years’ probation, and Bouie, age 28, was sentenced on March 1, 2023 by Judge Gold to 20 years in prison.
Keene pleaded guilty on December 8, 2022 to Accessory to Manslaughter in the First Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-55. Bouie pleaded guilty on October 5, 2022 to Manslaughter in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-55(a)(1) and Tampering with Physical Evidence in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-155.
Court records show the victim was stabbed five times in the neck and three times in the back. His body was concealed in a storage bin found on November 27, 2018 in the condominium where Keene and Bouie were living. Before discovery of the storage bin, the victim had been reported missing for about two weeks. During that time, Bouie and Keene went on a spending spree with funds from the victim and the victim’s mother’s pension and Social Security that was accessed via a debit card that was known to be in the possession of the victim. Purchases included new cellphones, cash on prepaid cards, plane tickets, car repairs, bleach, trash bags, and air fresheners.
“What we do know, for certain, is that Keene and Bouie were in this together,” State’s Attorney Walcott said. “Justice was completed today. Both Keene and Bouie will serve a period of time in prison. Both Keene and Bouie will be convicted felons. We may not know exactly which co-defendant is responsible for what, but we know that Jessica Keene and Quahzier Bouie are responsible for the death of the man who took them in, put a roof over their head, and food in their stomach. These sentences acknowledge all of that.”
The case was prosecuted by State’s Attorney Walcott, Assistant State’s Attorney Jesse Giddings with assistance from Inspector Thomas Steck and legal interns from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Joshua Crow and Olivia Jones. The case was investigated by the Windsor Locks Police Department with assistance from the Connecticut State Police and the Center for Digital Investigations.