Niagara Falls man sentenced for fatally beating his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced 32-year-old Abouycea D. Thornton of Niagara Falls was sentenced this morning before State Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Haendiges to 20 years to life in prison.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Buffalo Police responded to a reported fight on the 400 block of Berkshire Avenue near Bailey Avenue. The defendant attacked his ex-girlfriend and beat her boyfriend with a metal pipe. The victim, 29-year-old Nickolas A. Grazes Sr. from Buffalo, died from the injuries. The female victim was treated for injuries to her arm and released from the hospital.

Thornton pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree (class “A-I” felony), the highest count in the indictment against him, on Nov. 27, 2023.

Keane commends the Buffalo Police Department homicide squad for its work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Gary W. Hackbush of the homicide bureau and Assistant District Attorney Rachel M. Vicario of the special victims/domestic violence bureau.