Brigitte Harris was born on June 6, 1981, in Staten Island, New York. Her parents were immigrants from Liberia. When she was just two years old, her mother abandoned her. After this, she went to live with her father, Eric Goodridge, in Bay Shore, Long Island.

Brigitte's childhood was difficult. Her father later moved back to Liberia, and Brigitte moved around to stay with various relatives. During this time, she reported experiencing physical abuse from her grandmother. Additionally, she claimed that a cousin sexually abused her. These experiences deeply affected her.

In her late teenage years, Brigitte confronted her mother about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. However, her father denied the allegations. He claimed that Brigitte was mentally ill. This added to the tension in their relationship.

At the age of 17, Brigitte moved out on her own. Around this time, she began working as a security guard at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

On July 28, 2007, Brigitte Harris confronted her father, Eric Goodridge, in her apartment in Rockaway, New York. The encounter began after a family dispute arose concerning Eric's intention to take his granddaughters to Liberia against their will. After a heated discussion, Harris decided to prevent him from doing so. She handcuffed him to a chair and used a towel to gag him. After this, she strangled him to death.

Once Eric was dead, Harris used a scalpel to cut off his penis. Investigators believed he was already deceased when she performed this act. Following the incident, Harris disposed of the severed penis under the Rockaway Boardwalk.

After dialing 9-1-1 and informing the operator about her father's condition, Harris claimed she was heading to the police station but never arrived there. Instead, she called her sister, Carleen Goodridge, to confess what she had done. Carleen advised her to come to her home rather than turning herself in. Upon her arrival, Carleen called for an ambulance.

Due to her state of shock and the scalpel she had in her hand, the sisters made the decision to admit Harris to a psychiatric hospital. She was later charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter and took a plea of not guilty.

Harris claimed that she never intended to kill her father; her goal was to stop him from potentially harming his granddaughters. During her trial, she testified that she had researched a similar case involving the castration of a man and felt it was necessary to "take away his weapon."

In September 2009, a jury found Harris guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a lesser charge than what was originally brought against her. The jury's decision came as they felt her actions were not premeditated murder but were driven by her traumatic history.

Despite the jury's recommendation for leniency in her sentencing, the judge sentenced Harris to five to fifteen years in prison. She served three years and was released on parole in August 2012. After her release, she expressed her desire to advocate against family violence and began working on her future.