Body in trunk confirmed to be Anvia Mickens; boyfriend in custody in Niagara Falls

YOUNGSTOWN

City police confirmed Thursday that the body found in the trunk of a North Side man’s car in Niagara Falls, N.Y., is that of Anvia Mickens.

Mickens’ boyfriend, Jeshawn Elliott, 37, of Outlook Avenue, is in custody in Niagara Falls on a charge of assault on a police officer after police looking for him there said he pulled a knife when they tried to take him into custody.

Police in Niagara Falls called the chain of events that led to his arrest “bizarre.” Police there received calls from Elliott’s brother and Youngstown police that Elliot had said he stabbed Mickens and had driven to Niagara Falls – and that she was with him.

Elliott was arrested by police there about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Police checked Elliott’s car before they found him, and found a woman’s body with several stab wounds in the trunk.

Although Mickens’ identity was confirmed, the Niagara County Coroner’s Office had yet to rule on a cause of death.

E. Brian DalPorto, superintendent of police in Niagara Falls, said in the news conference that was live-streamed over the internet that Elliott borrowed a cellphone from someone after he reached Niagara Falls, then called his brother and told him what he had done.

Elliott then rented a bicycle before he was found by police.

When he pulled a knife on officers, one of them used an electronic stun weapon on him before he was taken into custody.

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.