KILLER PIMP GETS LIFE
Cut Brooklyn vic’s body into pieces, stored some in freezer
The family of a woman killed and dismembered in 2017 by her boyfriend, a Brooklyn pimp who forced her into prostitution, rejoiced as he was hit with a life sentence in Brooklyn Federal Court Friday.
Almost two dozen family members and supporters of Leondra Foster packed the courtroom for the emotional hearing, most wearing T-shirts with her face on them. One man wiped his eyes with a shirt before the sentencing began.
Foster, 32, was killed by blunt force trauma in January 2017 and cut with a knife and saw into nine pieces by Somorie Moses, 47, who disposed of her torso and other body parts at a Bronx waste transfer station while storing her head, hands and feet — one tattooed “Somorie” — in a freezer at his Flatbush home, according to prosecutors.
The case took many twists and turns through the years. In 2019 a jury in Brooklyn Supreme Court found Moses guilty of criminally negligent homicide and concealment of a corpse but not of murdering Foster. Moses was sentenced to 8 years in 2020.
In 2022, new evidence emerged tying the pimp to the killing of Foster as well as running a sex trafficking ring, and a retrial was announced. Moses pleaded guilty in November to sex trafficking eight victims and the murder of Foster. The prosecution of Moses is the first use of the federal statute criminalizing murder in the course of sex trafficking, said the United States Attorney’s Office.
“Leondra will never live out her full potential,” said Shanicqua Figueroa, Foster’s sister, in court. Figueroa described a woman who was generous and the life of family gatherings.
“She was valued, loved and cherished,” said the sister, as other family members wept in the audience and some left the courtroom.
“I was the one who answered the door when a homicide detective knocked on the door,” said Figueroa. “It broke me into so many pieces. I had to go ID my sister’s chopped head at the morgue with my mother.”
“What this monster did to my family is unbearable,” said Sandra Figueroa, Foster’s mother.
“Could you eat, could you sleep?” she said to Moses, who remained expressionless.
Three other victims of Moses were present at the hearing on a teleconference, and statements from some of the women, Jane Does 2, 3 and 5, were read by the prosecution describing how Moses had reeled them in with a sweet approach before becoming physically and emotionally abusive and forcing them into sex work. He beat one woman so intensely that her hearing was permanently damaged, according to one statement.
Michael Hueston, Moses’ lawyer, said his client had endured a rough upbringing, having been constantly exposed to violence on the streets of Flatbush, sexually abused by a teenage cousin when he was 9 and survived a suicide attempt at 27, which left a bullet lodged in his head.
“He was often abused and bullied on the streets and the conduct of his parents did not help,” said Hueston, explaining that his parents beat him “to toughen him up.”
“None of these women were beating him up, were they?” asked Judge Carol Bagley Amon.
Letters from Moses’ daughter and her mother were read in court, with his former partner writing, “He is not the person you see in this case.”
Heuston said his client “deeply loved Foster.”
“How does that square with him deeply loving her, engaging in the type of conduct that led to her death — however you want to describe it — and then dismembering her?” asked Amon.
“It’s in his heart,” said Hueston. “There is no sign that he has actually grappled with the gravity of what he did,” said Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Siegel. “I don’t think there’s ever been remorse.
“These are all human beings,” continued Seigel, referring to Moses’ victims. “What they endured … whippings, being cut with a razor and putting lemon juice on it, these are women that have survived and have come forward. They all saw the news and heard about Leondra Foster and every single one of them had the same reaction: that could have been me,” said the prosecutor.
Moses declined to speak in court when offered the opportunity.
“I realize this sentence is unusual for someone who has pled guilty,” said Amon, calling Moses a “predator” and his behavior “abhorrent” before sentencing him to 10 life sentences to run concurrently, one for each of nine counts of sex trafficking and another for the murder of Foster.
Sighs of relief from Foster’s family filled the courtroom at the announcement of the sentence, with fists pumping in the air. Once in the hallway, they embraced each other, finally feeling as if justice had been achieved.
Foster’s sister was overjoyed at the sentence, but said the ordeal would continue to affect the family.
“I’m so happy it’s finally over,” said Shanicqua Figueroa as family members prepared to leave. “It’s been seven years of hell. We’re going to get back to some type of norm but it’s not a norm without my sister.”