Death penalty sought in April fatal stomping
NORMAN — Desperate for a place to stay, Joe Alliniece moved from south Texas this year to stay with an acquaintance from his past at her apartment near the University of Oklahoma.
He claimed Hurricane Harvey in 2017 took everything — his home, car, pets. He had stayed with his mother, but she kicked him out.
In April, days after arriving, he brutally stomped to death his host, Brittani Young, 27, inside her apartment in front of her best friend, prosecutors allege.
Now, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the murder defendant, whose full name is Joseph Fidel Alliniece.
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn gave four reasons in a legal request filed Aug. 1.
The key reason is a legal claim "the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." Police reported Alliniece stomped the victim in the head with his foot as she lay on the floor.
The other claims are that he has a prior felony conviction for violence, that he is a continuing threat to society and that he knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person.
Prosecutors allege he seized and confined the victim's best friend, Kelly Nipper, when she came to the apartment. Prosecutors allege he also seized and confined Nipper's 2-year-old daughter.
Alliniece fled when the victim's mother went to the apartment during the April 24 attack, police said. He was arrested in Oklahoma City that night.
Alliniece, 29, is charged in Cleveland County District Court with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of kidnapping.
After his arrest, he told police he did not remember anything that had happened that day, according to a court affidavit.
Police reported multiple witnesses said he admitted to them in phone calls that he had killed Young.