Buffalo man pleads guilty for killing his girlfriend

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced 29-year-old Andre C. Whigham, also known as “Dro,” of Buffalo, pleaded guilty Thursday morning before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to one count of manslaughter in the first degree (class “B” violent felony).

On or about the late evening of Jan. 29, 2021, into the morning of Jan. 30, 2021, the defendant caused the death of his girlfriend by strangling her with his hands inside of an upstairs apartment on Gold Street in the City of Buffalo. The victim, 22-year-old Tiara Lott, was reported missing by her family. Buffalo Police found her body alongside railroad tracks near Wex Avenue in the City of Buffalo on Feb. 13, 2021.

Whigham faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Friday, April 14, at 9:30 a.m. He continues to be held without bail.

Flynn commended Det. Adam Stephany of the Buffalo Police Department homicide squad for his work in this investigation, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service for its assistance in locating the defendant.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan D. Haggerty of the homicide bureau.