NY man held woman hostage, strangled her after meeting on dating app: ‘She endured a nightmare’

By Allie Griffin

Published Oct. 24, 2023, 8:58 p.m. ET

A New York man with a reported history of domestic abuse allegedly held a woman hostage and strangled her in her own apartment after the two met on a dating app in every woman’s worst nightmare.

Herman “Nazir” Brightman, of Central Islip, allegedly trapped the victim in her Bronx apartment where he subjected her to repeated abuse just two weeks after he was freed without bail for allegedly strangling a different woman on the street, according to prosecutors and reports. 

He was arraigned Tuesday on a slew of charges stemming from the most recent assault and ordered held on bond. 

Brightman met the Bronx woman through Hinge and they dated for about a month before he allegedly turned abusive on Sept. 28 after she tried to end things.

The pair got into an argument inside the victim’s Parkchester apartment around 9 p.m. and the Long Island man struck her, the Bronx district attorney said.

Brightman, 30, would not let the victim leave and subjected her to both physical and sexual abuse, including strangulation, according to prosecutors.

The 29-year-old woman ran into her room and locked the door after Brightman threw a glass bottle at her, the Daily News reported, citing court documents. 

But the alleged serial abuser was able to break down the door and allegedly punched the victim in the head and choked her until she lost consciousness, the paper reported. 

“Look at me. I have nothing to lose. My dad is dying. We don’t work together anymore,” Brightman chillingly told her as he placed his hands around her neck, prosecutors alleged. 

After the woman woke up, the creep continued his violent tirade and threatened her life, according to the documents. 

“Kneel down,” he allegedly ordered her. “You ever been beat before? This is a night you will never forget. You are not going to make it out alive tonight.”

When Brightman was taking a shower soon after, the woman contacted her best friend who called the police before racing to the apartment to help.

The victim was able to escape with her help and get assistance, the district attorney said.

Brightman was arrested and arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court for the Sept. 28 attack on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching, second-degree strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

“The defendant and the victim had dated for about a month, and when she told him the relationship was over, he allegedly refused to let her leave, assaulted her and strangled her,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.

“She endured a nightmare.”

But she wasn’t the only one. 

Brightman — who also used the alias Nazir Griffiths — is facing charges for alleged attacks on at least three other women in the New York-New Jersey area. 

He was charged earlier this month with an assault on another romantic partner in Queens whom he threatened “to gut,” according to the Queens district attorney. 

Similarly to the Bronx attack, Brightman is accused of holding the 28-year-old Queens victim — who he met months earlier on Hinge — hostage in her own home after the couple got into an argument on Aug. 7.  

Brightman, who was staying in the victim’s home, allegedly chopped the woman’s cell phone in half with a kitchen knife and bound her wrists and taped over her month, prosecutors said. 

He ordered to sit on her bed, then climbed on top of her and allegedly poked her with the tip of the knife. Brightman threatened to gut her and asked her which part of her body she wanted him to cut first, the Queens district attorney said. 

“The defendant terrorized his girlfriend in her own home,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Wielding a knife, he threatened to gut her; he threatened to kill her. She is fortunate to have escaped with her life.”

Brightman eventually untied the woman so she could go to work and she was able to convince him to leave her place six days later by saying she was expecting relatives to visit, according to the News. 

He was charged with kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, criminal mischief in the third degree, menacing in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree.

He is also facing strangulation and assault charges for a Sept. 6 attack on a third woman in which he allegedly grabbed her by the neck on a Bronx street, according to the News. He is accused of putting one arm around the victim’s neck while covering her nose and mouth with his other hand. 

The creep’s pattern of abuse allegedly spans multiple states. He has a pending case in New Jersey for threatening to put a fourth woman — and the earliest known victim — in a “body bag” on July 20, the outlet reported. 

He is accused of forcing the victim into a car from her West New York home at knifepoint. He allegedly punched the woman and put her in a chokehold before taking her to another residence. The woman found a moment to call 911 and police showed up and arrested Brightman, according to the Daily News. 

Bronx DA Clark warned others “to be vigilant about intimate partner violence and use caution on dating apps.”

Brightman is due back in court for the Sept. 28 charges on Jan. 10, 2024.

If you or someone you know is in danger of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Safe Horizon at 1-800-621-HOPE

nypost.com

Brightman met the woman through Hinge and they dated for about a month before he allegedly turned abusive after she tried to end things.

I have one huge question to ask: why was this man out free after he's terrorized multiple women (including threatening to disembowel one).