Cannibal Axe Murd*rer Ate Brain & Eyeball of Victim, GRANTED RELEASE, Promises to ‘Reach Out’ if Cravings Hit

Tyree Smith was found “not guilty”, but he definitely did it.

The insanity plea kept away the guilty verdict, but the schizophrenic man did in fact kill 43 year old Angel Gonzalez back in 2013.

He ultimately confessed to the crime, and was institutionalized in the Connecticut Valley Hospital — a 60 year sentence.

The reason for the insanity plea was simple — Tyree Smith was without a doubt insane.

Not only did he kill Angel Gonzalez, a homeless man he found on the street…

But Smith then went to work chopping up Gonzalez with the axe he killed him with, and proceeded to eat part of his brain and eyeball.

Here was a report from the local news in Bridgeport, Connecticut 13 years ago from the scene of a vigil held after the cannibalistic murder event:

NEW: Connecticut man who hacked a man to de*th with an axe before eating the victim’s brain and eyeball, granted conditional release.

Uh…

Tyree Smith is being released because he showed “long-term stability, remained engaged in all recommended treatments and consistently… pic.twitter.com/al4r1AtASt

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 22, 2025

Now, Tyree Smith is being granted a conditional release.  And that has caused an understandable uproar.

Matt Walsh weighed in on the controversy today, sarcastically pointing out what has eyebrows raised:

Don’t worry guys. The Connecticut psychiatric board released an axe murderer cannibal back into society but they assure us that if he experiences any “cravings” for the taste of human flesh he will immediately “reach out” for help. Phew! That’s a relief!https://t.co/6QU8ulqxZR pic.twitter.com/kl4T6ZaVN6

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 22, 2025

The concern stems from comments that Tyree made at his hearing.

He has apparently promised that if the cravings return, he’ll simply reach out for help.

Obviously… that isn’t a huge comfort to many people, considering it’s coming from an axe murdering cannibal with diagnosed schizophrenia only controlled through medication.

But Tyree Smith’s doctors claim he is “rehabilitated” as a result of medications which have stopped the voices in his head, according to the New York Post:

A confessed killer institutionalized after murdering a homeless man and eating parts of his body in a Connecticut cemetery could soon be walking among us once again — and local politicians are none too happy about it.

The decision was made after doctors who’ve been treating Smith said he’s been fully rehabilitated, thanks to medications that quelled the voices in his head.

“To quote the director there, he is a joy. He is considered a support to the other people there,” forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caren Teitelbaum said.

“Once he was stable, he was a really calming presence for other patients.”

In 2013, Smith was committed to Connecticut Valley Hospital for 60 years, after a three-judge panel found him not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2011 killing and cannibalization of Angel Gonzalez, 43.

Smith admitted to killing Gonzalez — who was homeless — with an ax inside an abandoned home in Bridgeport before removing parts of his brain, one of his eyeballs and several organs.

He then consumed the body parts at Lakeview Cemetery, washing them down with sake.

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Gonzalez’s sister-in-law, Talitha Frazier, spoke during Friday’s hearing and urged the board to keep Smith inside the hospital.

“How do we really know he’s not going to do this again?” Frazier asked, according to CTPost. “He had no remorse for killing Angel.”

To be fair, Tyree’s conditional release doesn’t exactly mean he’s being set free to roam wherever he pleases.

He will actually remain under what is being described as “structured supervision” during trips away from the Connecticut psychiatric hospital where he is serving out his sentence.

Nevertheless, residents of the area are astounded that a violent murderer is being released after just 10 years served.

Yesterday a Connecticut court decided to release Tyree Lincoln Smith. In 2013 he ate the eyeballs and human flesh of his victim but a Connecticut judge found him fit for parole. Bridgeport just got that much safer 👏 I wonder what his next meal will be? pic.twitter.com/zfqsv2meqW

— Kate Prokop (@kateinthemix) February 22, 2025

As stated, the “conditional release” will not allow Tyree to simply leave the facility he is housed in and rejoin society.

He will actually remain in the psychiatric hospital, but will be allowed supervised trips out of the facility, according to a report in the local news — the Hartford Courant:

A man committed to a psychiatric hospital for up to 60 years for killing his victim with an ax before eating his brain and one of his eyeballs has been granted conditional release.

The written decision was issued Friday by the Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board after a hearing earlier in the day where the board heard extensively from a team of psychiatric doctors and clinical professionals with the Whiting Forensic Hospital who have worked with Tyree Smith.

Smith did not attend the hearing in person at the advice of his attorney, citing the intense media attention the case received and safety concerns, and instead watched the proceedings virtually.

“The board previously determined that Mr. Smith has demonstrated long-term stability, remained engaged in all recommended treatments, and consistently followed his care plan,” Vanessa Cardella, a spokesperson for the board, said in a statement. “His release will be conditional, ensuring that he remains under structured supervision and continues receiving the necessary mental health services.

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“Before being considered for conditional release, individuals first go through a temporary leave process, where they remain under hospital supervision while gradually increasing their time in the community,” Cardella said. “This phased approach ensures stability before conditional release, allowing individuals to build relationships with outpatient providers while maintaining high levels of oversight. Conditional release continues this supervision with strict conditions to prioritize both public safety and the individual’s ongoing treatment. Rehabilitation, not punishment, is the goal for all individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity.”

While there may be comfort for residents of the community knowing that he will not be simply freed from custody, there seems to have been a large step taken without any public knowledge.

According to the report quoted above, the “conditional release” that Tyree now qualifies for could only have been granted in the event that a “temporary leave process” had occurred.

That seems to suggest that without public knowledge, Tyree has previously been allowed to leave the facility in order to TEST OUT the possibility of a “conditional release”.

And that seems to be the case, as this local news report also indicates that he has already been living in a “halfway house”, leading up to this conditional release:

I must admit — there is a part of me that wants to believe the doctors’ report and the possibility that Tyree could be, in some way, “rehabilitated”.

The problem I have is two fold.

Firstly, while the spokesperson for the review board overseeing Tyree’s “conditional release” argued that their goal was rehabilitation and not punishment for those found “not guilty” by reason of insanity…

That does not change the need to balance public safety against a known threat.

And secondly, he actually did brutally murder a man completely unprovoked, and ATE PARTS OF HIS BODY.

The technicalities of “guilty” vs “not guilty by reason of insanity” doesn’t change that fact.

Are we really so conceptually blind as a society that we can’t clearly see the issues with this “conditional release”?

Apparently, some of us still are.  And a few of them serve on the review board that is handling Tyree Smith’s case.

Quite honestly, Tyree may be a perfect gentleman and a “joy” to be around, as they describe him — as long as he is taking his meds.

But that’s a big “if”, and mistakes are easy to make.

In this case, one missed dosage could trigger something so horrific that I don’t even want to think about it, much less live it out.

While I applaud those attempting to treat Tyree Smith’s mental issues, I can only denounce those who would tempt fate by releasing — in any capacity — such a man back into society.

Justice matters.

And public safety should not be a mere afterthought when it comes to deciding who stays or who walks free from a psychiatric hospital for committing crimes like Tyree Smith committed.