Man convicted of 2004 cold case murder of 17-year-old Bushwick girl
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Tuesday announced that a 40-year-old man has been convicted of the murder of Sharabia Thomas, a teenager from Bushwick who was killed in 2004. A DNA analysis of cells found on the victim’s fingernails, conducted in 2016, was a match to the defendant, leading to his arrest and conviction.
Kwauhuru Govan, 40, formerly of Gates Avenue, was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Joanne Quinones. Govan faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced on Sept. 7.
According to trial testimony, the naked body of Sharabia Thomas, 17, was discovered on the afternoon of Feb. 11, 2004 inside two laundry bags on the side of an alleyway adjacent to 130 Palmetto St. in Bushwick. Sharabia suffered blunt force trauma to her head, face and torso and had visible ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia by neck compression.