Latrice Purdie admits to murder and weapon charges in 2024 homicide case
(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. – Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that a Buffalo woman has pleaded guilty to all charges in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred last year in the city’s Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.
On Monday, August 18, 2025, Latrice T. Purdie, 30, of Buffalo, appeared before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case and entered guilty pleas to one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-I felony, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony. Purdie pleaded guilty to the full indictment without the benefit of a plea deal.
The charges stem from an incident on October 30, 2024, when Buffalo Police responded to a shooting on Wade Avenue near Holden Street around 6:00 p.m. Officers found 39-year-old Akeem Cortez, who had been shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators determined that Purdie intentionally shot the victim with an illegal firearm, causing his death.
Purdie faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison when she returns to court on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. She is being held without bail until sentencing.
District Attorney Keane credited Buffalo Police Detectives Thomas Nunan and Rita Ruffin for their work on the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher S. Safulko of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Abbi L. Fuhrken of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau.
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