Man in gruesome Conn. killing held on $1M bond

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH/AP) - A Floridian charged with hacking a Connecticut homeless man to death with an ax and eating some body parts has been ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $1 million bond.

Tyree Lincoln Smith, 35, stared blankly as he stood with his hands chained behind his back during his arraignment in Bridgeport Superior Court on a murder charge. It was his first court appearance since he was returned to Connecticut on Tuesday following his arrest last week in Lynn Haven, Fla.

Angel Gonzalez, or 'Tun Tun' lived in a house on Brooks Street for 9 years. He even raised his stepdaughters there. It was foreclosed one year ago and it even caught on fire, but his family says he continued to live on the third floor of the house because he didn't want to let go of all the wonderful memories. Unfortunately it was inside the house he loved so much where he was brutally murdered on Dec. 15

Prosecutor Donal Collimore urged the judge to set a high bond, describing the crime as "extremely heinous."

The arrest affidavit says Gonzalez was sleeping on the third floor of the abandoned house when he saw Smith sleeping on a stoop and invited him inside. Once inside, Smith allegedly killed Gonzalez with an ax and then ate some of his body parts.

"He was trying to help Tyree come in from out of the cold and that's what really hurts," said Talitha Frazier, Gonzalez's sister-in-law.

Frazier and Gonzalez's stepdaughter brought photographs of him to court to show his alleged killer.

"He smiled when he saw his picture, he had no remorse," said Odalys Vazquez, Gonzalez's stepdaughter. "He is not insane. He started smiling once he saw those pictures, he knows what he did was wrong and psychiatric help, are you serious?"

The family knew Angel was missing, but what they didn't know was that he had been killed, his body left inside the abandoned house for weeks before it was found. All the while, his alleged killer was walking the streets of Bridgeport, even interacting with the victim's family.

"I had seen Tyree walking down Arctic Street on East Main Street because he asked me for some change in front of Rite Aid and I told him to go get a job. Not knowing this man killed Angel," said Frazier. "It's scary knowing I came face to face with this man not knowing he was the one."

A psychiatric evaluation was ordered and he has been placed on suicide watch.

Gonzalez's family says they'll be in court every day until a sentence is handed down. His family members say it's in fact two families who are grieving today because it was Smith's mother who turned him into police.

Smith's next hearing was scheduled for Feb. 14.