KEY POINTS
- The man thought he would find trash in the bag before making the grisly discovery
- Cops searched the area for other body parts but did not find any
- Investigators will try using DNA to determine the victim’s identity
A woman’s dismembered body was found in a shopping cart by a man in Brooklyn in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
The passerby had come across the shopping cart with a garbage bag inside it at Atlantic Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York at around 1:45 a.m. The man began pushing the cart after spotting it near a pawn shop and other small businesses in the area. He initially did not look inside the bag and thought he might find bottles or merchandise, according to NBC New York.
When the man eventually looked inside, he found a woman’s dismembered torso in the bag with her head, arms and legs missing. He called 911 after the grisly discovery.
Cops believe the woman is either white or Hispanic.
Authorities noted that the body, which did not appear to be decomposed, had no gunshot wounds or stabbing injuries. Cops also searched the area for other body parts but did not find any.
The discovery of the woman’s body torso spread fear among residents in the area.
“Oh my God, Jesus Christ, cause nowadays anyone is not safe here anymore, I don’t know what to do because I work around the corner,” resident Violet Rodriguez told ABC7NY.
Another resident Cynthia Jimenez told the outlet, “They say New York is a dream, an American dream, but I don’t feel safe. I just wanna like, make this place safer.”
Investigators are trying to determine the victim’s identity by using DNA since they will not be able to recognize her through fingerprints or dental records. The headless torso did not have any tattoos, birthmarks, or other identifiable marks.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the woman’s cause of death.
Surveillance footage will also be checked to identify anyone pushing the cart into the area before the passerby stumbled upon the dismembered body.
NYPD has not yet released any details about a possible suspect.
One man told PIX11 that he frequently visited the same neighborhood with his family for the last 15 years. Identified by only his first name, Daquawn, the man said he could not believe the news of the gruesome discovery.
“It’s crazy times that we live in,” he told the outlet.
