Bragg Moves To Dismiss Murder Charge Against Upper West Side Mom

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Manhattan's District attorney made moves this week to dismiss a murder charge against an Upper West Side mother who says she stabbed her abusive husband in self defense, prosecutors announced and court records show.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appeared in court Monday to file a motion to dismiss the murder indictment against Tracy McCarter, who was arrested just before the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, his office announced.

Supreme Court Judge Diane Kiesel said she would issue her decision on Bragg's request in writing by the end of the week.

The delay — and Bragg's continued efforts not to drop the case in entirety, but present lesser charges — came as a disappointment to her family.

“We are deeply disappointed that today is not the cause for celebration our family expected it to be," Ashley McCarter, one of Tracy's four children, wrote in a statement after the court hearing.

"He (Bragg) needs to firmly commit to dropping the murder charge against my mom and not bring any other charges against her."

The murder charge in question stems from the fatal chest wound James Murray received on March 2, 2020, court documents state.

McCarter, accused of stabbing James Murray with a kitchen knife, said her recently-separated husband showed up drunk and attacked when she refused to give him money for alcohol, court records show.

McCarter said she tried her best to administer aid as she called the police, but was arrested, arraigned and held without bail, according to court records.

Then-District Attorney Cy Vance argued she presented a flight risk because she previously worked as a traveling nurse and had family in Texas, despite McCarter having held a full-time position at Weill-Cornell since 2014, court records show.

The Upper West Side mom spent several months on Rikers as her case moved slowly through the pandemic-delayed court system. Multiple times efforts to reduce her sentence or dismiss the indictment have been denied.

A rally took place at the end of October that included the hand delivery of more than 21,000 signatures directly to Bragg's office in an effort to drop all charges against her.

Bragg has been criticized for showing support for McCarter during his campaign, but then not following through to get justice for the Upper West Sider.

Patch will keep an eye out for the court's decision.