Prosecutors say Willraw Morrison was killed months before he was expected to testify in a murder case involving one of the defendants.
BUFFALO, NY — Five Buffalo residents have been indicted in an alleged conspiracy to kill a witness to prevent him from testifying in a murder case, with four defendants facing first-degree murder charges, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said.
Lamarrio A. Clark, 29; Dayshawn J. Brazier, 35; James S. Barnwell, 27; and Angela Bowser, 25, are each charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree conspiracy. A fifth defendant, Amos J. Murray, 24, is charged with second-degree conspiracy. Prosecutors allege the group acted together in a plan to kill 23-year-old Willraw T. Morrison before he could testify in a case involving Clark.
The district attorney’s office said Morrison was expected to testify in the trial of People v. Lamarrio Clark, which had been scheduled for July 2025. Prosecutors allege the defendants conspired to intentionally cause Morrison’s death for the purpose of preventing that testimony. Authorities have not publicly detailed the alleged role of each defendant in the conspiracy beyond the accusations announced with the indictment.
Buffalo police were called to the first block of Krupp Street at about 1:30 p.m. March 19, 2025, after a shooting. Morrison was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to prosecutors. The district attorney’s office described Morrison as the intended witness in Clark’s pending criminal case.
Prosecutors also allege Morrison had been targeted months earlier. On Sept. 12, 2024, Morrison was shot multiple times on Ashley Street in Buffalo but survived. Brazier has been indicted on an additional count of first-degree attempted murder in connection with that shooting. The district attorney’s office alleges Brazier hired another person to shoot Morrison with the intent to kill him.
The case in which Morrison was expected to testify involved the July 4, 2023, killing of Corbin J. Kinsey Sr. on Warring Avenue near Genesee Street in Buffalo. Clark was initially accused of murder and later pleaded guilty in August 2025 to first-degree manslaughter in full satisfaction of the indictment. He was sentenced in October 2025 to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
According to the district attorney’s office, Clark shot Kinsey with an illegal handgun at about 5 p.m. on July 4, 2023. Kinsey, 28, was taken to Erie County Medical Center and later died. Morrison’s expected testimony in that case was scheduled to occur before Clark ultimately entered his guilty plea.
The new indictment adds a separate set of allegations concerning Morrison’s death and the alleged effort to stop him from appearing as a witness. Prosecutors have not publicly released detailed evidence supporting each conspiracy charge or disclosed whether additional people are under investigation. No defense responses to the new allegations were included in the district attorney’s announcement.
The investigation involved the Buffalo Police Department and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Chief Christopher S. Safulko and Assistant District Attorney Samantha King of the Major Crimes Bureau, along with Chief Cathleen M. Roemer of the Special Victims Unit.
Clark, Brazier, Barnwell, Bowser and Murray were being held without bail and are scheduled for a pretrial conference at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 11, 2026. The charges in the new indictment are allegations, and all five defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Author note: Last updated October 24, 2026.