Nadine Russell: Parolee Shaeem Chavis arrested for killing NYC woman previously served 27 years for murder
Warning: This content contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion is advised.
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK CITY: Shaeem Chavis, a Staten Island man was arrested by the police in connection with a shooting that happened on Wednesday, September 21, that led to the death of a 61-year-old woman, Nadine Davis Russell.
Chavis is charged with murder, first-degree assault, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Police suggest that Nadine was found inside her apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Meanwhile, another 43-year-old male was also at the location and got shot in the shoulder. He is expected to survive.
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Police records indicate Chavis was convicted in the ‘90s of killing a livery driver in daylight near the intersection of Gordon Street and Laurel Avenue in Stapleton when he was just 16 years old. Back then, the victim 45-year-old Mahmoud Addelrehiem was found shot twice in the back of the head.
For the same case, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and was released in March 2021. Nadine's son, Darrell Mitchell, raised his doubts regarding the death to NY Daily News. He claimed his mother had reached out to him that same night asking for help to understand how to use CashApp. He stated, “I don’t know the person. I just know it was someone that she may have known at some point. I can’t even tell you why it happened. I just know that it had to have went left, went bad at a certain point — and she didn’t walk away with her life.”
Mitchell also spoke about his mother's tragic life. He claimed that she lost a son in childbirth in 1985. Later, she lost another son, Terrance Mason, 29 who was shot dead on a Stapleton street corner. “Nobody had it tougher than her, she’s been in a dogfight her whole life and she made it look pretty. She could be going through something, but she wears it well.” Further, he added, “...She threw events for the neighborhood. Everybody was welcome. No matter what she lost, she gave back to the community.”
Nadine's neighbors also indicated that she has recently bought a ring bell for her home for security purposes. They also added that in the hours prior to her death, she had called multiple people for help out of fear for her safety. However, she had a felony case against her for which Nadine was facing arson charges. It is claimed that she started a fire in the middle of the night outside another apartment in her building. The apartment also occupied a small child and a male, just after 1 am.
Geoffrey Mason Jr, her other son stated, she was the kind of person “you either loved or loved to hate.” “She spoke the truth,” adding that she didn’t “bite her tongue” for anyone. “She told you how it was.” He further added, “The thing she enjoyed the most was spending time with her grandkids, she spent a lot of time checking in on them."