Current:Home > ContactTradeEdge-They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case. -Capitatum
TradeEdge-They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case.
TradeEdge Exchange View
Date:2025-04-11 06:06:52
A New York City woman previously taken for a psychiatric evaluation after police said they found human remains including a man's head in a taped up refrigerator in her home was due in court Monday after being arrested in connection to the grisly discovery.
Heather Stines,TradeEdge 45, of Brooklyn, is charged with concealment of a human corpse after body parts were discovered at her apartment in the city's in East Flatbush neighborhood in the city's southeast area, a New York City Police Department spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Monday.
According to police, officers responded to the home for a welfare check just after 7 p.m. on Jan 22 and "observed an unconscious and unresponsive unidentified male inside the apartment."
Paramedics pronounced the man dead on scene, police said, and as of Monday, the New York City' medical examiner's office had not yet determined the man's cause of death, a police spokesperson told USA TODAY.
The case also remained active, police said, and remained under investigation.
Human remains found in freezer:Police investigating homicide after human remains found in freezer of Colorado home
Victim identified through fingerprints as Kawsheen Gelzer
Officials confirmed the victim was identified by the medical examiner through fingerprints as Kawsheen Gelzer.
Online records show Gelzer was age 40 when he died and was a registered sex offender.
'Without ventilation and without water':Man opens emergency exit door on plane, walks out onto wing before takeoff
A tip, a welfare check and an arrest
Police have not yet said how long they believe the body had been in the fridge.
Officers initially responded to a tip from someone who said they saw what appeared to be a human head in a black bag in the refrigerator of Stines' home, according to court records and information obtained by the New York Times and the Associated Press.
USA TODAY has requested the police report from the Kings County Criminal Court clerk's office, where online records show it was filed.
When officers visited Stines' home, the Associated Press reported, they found multiple black bags in the refrigerator and freezer full of body parts.
"The refrigerator was taped shut at the time," Joseph E. Kenny, NYPD chief of detectives, said after the find the Times reported and − according to the police report, Stines pleaded with the officers not to open it."
According to police, Stines told detectives the body had been in the fridge "for several months" and belonged to a man who her husband had an argument with over drugs in September, the Times reported. The woman allegedly told investigators her husband killed the man and put his body in their refrigerator.
Two days after the body was found, on Jan. 24, police said they arrested Wells in connection to the finding.
After her arrest, Stine was taken for a psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital then was later booked into jail.
So far no other arrests made in case
As of Monday, police told USA TODAY no other arrests had been made in the case.
The suspect's 79-year-old aunt, Aime Stines, told the Times her niece moved to New York City around eight years ago after her father died and had "a history of drug use but never appeared to be violent."
“There is no way − I couldn’t believe it,” Stines told the Times she recalled after her niece’s arrest. “Heather was always smiling and talking. She has this voice where she talks so fast that I can hardly understand her. She always seemed happy.”
A $50,000 bond and a not guilty plea
Court records show Stines pleaded not guilty to the charge in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Jan. 25 and was set to reappear in court Monday in connection to the case.
Records also show Stines remained in custody on $50,000 bond on Monday.
USA TODAY has reached out to Stines' attorney.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (563)
Related
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Judge blocks one part of new Alabama absentee ballot restrictions
- Ex-CIA officer convicted of groping coworker in spy agency’s latest sexual misconduct case
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Star Eduardo Xol Dead at 58 After Stabbing Attack
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Sara Foster Addresses Tommy Haas Breakup Rumors
- Parkinson’s diagnosis came after Favre began struggling with his right arm, he tells TMZ Sports
- Tia Mowry Speaks Out After Sharing She Isn't Close to Twin Sister Tamera Mowry
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Secret Service failures before Trump rally shooting were ‘preventable,’ Senate panel finds
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Woman sentenced to 18 years for plotting with neo-Nazi leader to attack Baltimore’s power grid
- Aaron Hernandez ‘American Sports Story’ series wants to show a different view of the disgraced NFLer
- Anna Sorokin eliminated from ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in first round of cuts
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- 1 charged after St. Louis police officer hit and killed responding to crash
- Back with the Chiefs, running back Kareem Hunt wants to prove he’s matured, still has something left
- Mega Millions winning numbers for September 24 drawing; jackpot at $62 million
Recommendation
51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
Former Detroit-area mayor pleads guilty in scheme to cash in on land deal
Meta unveils cheaper VR headset, AI updates and shows off prototype for holographic AR glasses
Horoscopes Today, September 24, 2024
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Every J.Crew Outlet Order Today Includes Free Shipping, Plus an Extra 50% off Sale -- Styles Start at $9
Anna Sorokin eliminated from ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in first round of cuts
Tearful Julie Chrisley Apologizes to Her Family Before 7-Year Prison Sentence Is Upheld