The Illinois parole board chair and a member who oversaw the parole hearing for Crosetti Brand — who is accused of stabbing an-ex-girlfriend and killing her 11-year-old son — have stepped down from their roles, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced Monday.
“The Prisoner Review Board [PRB] must be able to operate independently as they review enormously difficult cases, but I believe LeAnn Miller has made the correct decision in stepping down from her role,” Pritzker said, concerning the board member’s resignation.
Brand is accused in the stabbing attack that wounded Laterria Smith and killed her son, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins, who was “trying to protect his mother” in the March 13 incident, said the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx. According to police, Smith has an order of protection against Brand.
Brand was out on parole when the incident occurred.
He was serving a 16-year sentence for a home invasion and currently has three orders of protection violations against him, according to police. ABC News has reached out to Brand’s legal team.
Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti, in a March 15 press conference, said Brand had been “paroled and placed on electronic monitoring last October. While he was on parole, he threatened the female victim via text and also showed up at her home. He was sent back to prison in February for this parole violation.”
