Nellie Hocutt, a vibrant 91-year-old known for her political activism and generosity within her Bronx neighborhood, was still actively contributing to her community by driving friends to church on Sundays.

However, in January 2003, her concerned neighbors contacted the authorities after noticing that her car remained in the driveway instead of the garage, and her mailbox was overflowing with uncollected letters.

Upon entering her home, police made a grim discovery: Nellie was found tied to a chair and had passed away, as recounted in The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher, which airs Saturdays at 9/8c on Oxygen.

“There was a plastic bag over her head, secured with a scarf,” explained NYPD Bronx Homicide Detective Nicholas Ciuffi in the November 1 episode titled “She Fought Back.” He questioned, “What kind of savage can do something like this?”

Nellie Hocutt’s home processed for evidence

There were no signs of forced entry. The perpetrator had used items found in Nellie’s home to subdue and kill her. The brutal nature of the murder led police to suspect a personal element.

The crime scene was processed for fingerprints and other evidence, while police canvassed Nellie’s neighbors. “They told us that she was very security conscious,” said NYPD Bronx Homicide Commanding Officer Sean O’Toole. “She wouldn’t open the door for anybody she didn’t know.” 

What Nellie Hocutt’s autopsy revealed

Nellie’s autopsy revealed a laceration and contusion on her tongue, indicating something had been aggressively forced into her mouth. 

Her stomach contents showed that she had a significant percentage of alcohol made up of the scotch and wine as well as methanol, a solvent.

Evidence showed that the killer “forced her mouth open and jammed these liquids into her mouth,” said Butcher. “She was drowning in these fluids. On a scale of bad deaths, this is 1,000.” 

Added Ciuffi: “This is torture. Barbaric.” 

Searching for leads and suspects

As investigators worked the case, they considered a number of possible suspects including Nellie’s relatives as well as a mailman who’d made a false statement about never being in the victim’s home.

“We looked at a lot of different people,” said Ciuffi. “I looked at all the family members, and a granddaughter’s boyfriend.”

That is par for the course in murder investigations. “It’s awful to say it,” said Bronx County Assistant District Attorney Christine Scaccia, “but very often, people who are the victim of homicides are victims from somebody that they know.”

Fingerprints collected at the scene were not a match to any of the possible suspects. The case eventually went cold. 

A tip cracks the case wide open

In June 2007, four years after Nellie’s brutal murder, police got a tip that cracked the case wide open. 

A source named Larissa Kirby told police that two girls had told her they murdered an elderly woman in the Bronx. She named them: Sparkle Daniel, then 17, and Nadine Panton, then 26. 

Larissa reported that she was friends with Sparkle, but they had had a falling out over some man, according to The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher. She was sharing what she knew as payback. 

Detectives learned that Sparkle’s aunt lived near Nellie and knew the victim because of that. The day of the murder, Larissa said, Sparkle and Nadine saw Nellie carrying in groceries. They asked to use the elderly woman’s phone.

“Nellie told Sparkle she could use the telephone to call her aunt,” said O’Toole. “She called her aunt but got no answer. Larissa Kirby told us that at that point, Nadine told her that they were going to rob this lady.”

During the robbery, they realized that Nellie knew them–and decided they had to kill her. “Larissa had no insight,” said Butcher, “as to why Sparkle and Nadine would kill Nellie Hocutt in such an over the top and violent manner.”

Sparkle Daniel and Nadine Panton become prime suspects

Ciuffi reached out to a Daily News editor who agreed to run an article saying that new leads had been found in a four-year-old homicide of an elderly Bronx woman.

Then, detectives enlisted Larissa to call Sparkle and mention that news story. “Sparkle makes incriminating statements to Larissa,” said Ciuffi, “and then she says, ‘I gotta talk to Nadine.’”

When police did background checks on Sparkle, they found she had no criminal history. Nadine had had scrapes with the law before.

Sparkle Daniel and Nadine Panton arrested and tried separately

On July 19, 2007, Sparkle was arrested and fingerprinted. Her print matched one collected from Nellie’s phone. 

“I was elated when I found out that the print came back to Miss Sparkle Daniel,” said NYPD Crime Scene Investigator Lawrence Walsh, who’d processed the scene. “Whatever small role I played in this, it’s really gratifying.” 

“Sparkle Daniel confessed to being in the house, but she said that it was Nadine’s idea to do the robbery,” said O’Toole. “She was kind of threatened by Nadine.”

Nadine pointed the finger at Sparkle. “Nadine did not deny her participation,” said Scaccia. “She was blaming Sparkle Daniel for being the person who masterminded the incident.”

Sparkle’s trial began in October 2010. “Taking a look at Sparkle Daniel,” said Nellie’s step-grandson Omar Whitfield, “it was like looking at the devil.”

Sparkle was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars. 

In December 2010, Nadine was found guilty and also sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. 

In 2014, Sparkle’s verdict was overturned on a technicality. She was convicted again at a retrial in 2018. She is once again serving 25 years to life.

The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher airs Saturdays at 6/5c p.m. on Oxygen.