Months after the rotting body of a musician from Western Massachusetts was found in a Greenfield apartment, a 42-year-old man pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the death.
Christopher Hairston, 35, formerly of Pittsfield and Greenfield, was found dead inside the apartment of Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 42, in April, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office said.
Herberger-Brown pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Superior Court to murder charges, the district attorney’s office said.
The murder suspect also faced multiple kidnapping and assault and battery charges related to a separate incident in his apartment from February, and two malicious destruction charges from another incident in his apartment and a laundry room in March and April, the office said.
After Hairston’s body was found inside Herberger-Brown’s Chapman Street apartment on April 22 by Greenfield Police, Herberger-Brown was tracked to Albany, New York, the office said. He was arrested and held until his return to Massachusetts.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was not able to determine the cause of Hairston’s death due to the condition of his body, the district attorney’s office said.
Hairston was a “a fun-loving spirit with a big, open heart.” He grew up in Pittsfield and was “an exceptional and naturally-talented percussionist,” according to his loved ones.
“You were a great guy and one hell of a musician. I know you are playing some sick beats up there my friend,” a friend on Facebook posted.
Herberger-Brown was held without bail, and will have a bail hearing on the case for Jan. 7, 2025. The case was investigated by Greenfield police and state police officers with the district attorney’s office, along with state police in the Crime Scene Services section.
Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne is prosecuting the case, and Herberger-Brown is represented by Springfield attorney Nicholas Horgan.
