GREENFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - A man accused of killing a man in February 2024 and keeping his body in an apartment until it was discovered two months later is changing his plea to guilty.

Christopher Hairston and Taaniel Herberger-Brown were seen fighting outside of a local bar in Greenfield. Police let them go as they knew each other and were going to spend the night together at Herberger-Brown’s apartment on Chapman Street.

The two had a physical altercation at the apartment and Hairston was strangled to death, according to an autopsy.

The body of the 35-year-old from Pittsfield was not discovered for another two months when they were called to a Chapman Street apartment for a foul odor.

Prosecutors said that Hairston’s body was found decomposing in a trash bin, wrapped in plastic and trash bags.

Herberger-Brown initially pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in Greenfield District Court in July 2024 and he was ordered held without bail at that time.

“We had to come here and see you time after time, and all the while, I’d give anything to be looking at Chris instead,” said Melanie Asta, Hairston’s sister. “But I can’t because you took that. I wish you would rot in jail for the rest of your miserable life.”

The case was since moved to Franklin Superior Court where Herberger-Brown faced a murder docket, along with a separate case involving destruction of property to the apartment complex he was living in.

Herberger-Brown is now pleading guilty, bringing some measure of closure to Hairston’s family.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.