Current:Home > MyThey found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case. -Wealth Navigators Hub
They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case.
View
Date:2025-04-16 16:01:26
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, 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! (836)
Related
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Emma Roberts Reveals the Valuable Gift She Took Back From Her Ex After They Split
- After Stefon Diggs trade, Bills under pressure in NFL draft to answer for mounting losses
- Bob Graham, former Florida governor and US senator with a common touch, dies at 87
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Whitey Herzog, Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals manager, dies at 92
- Circus elephant briefly escapes, walks through Butte, Montana streets: Watch video
- Emma Roberts Reveals the Valuable Gift She Took Back From Her Ex After They Split
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Police seeking arrest of Pennsylvania state lawmaker for allegedly violating restraining order
Ranking
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- NFL draft order 2024: Where every team picks over seven rounds, 257 picks
- Caitlin Clark vs. Diana Taurasi, Finals rematch among 10 best WNBA games to watch in 2024
- 'We must adapt': L.L. Bean announces layoffs, reduced call center hours, citing online shopping
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- How 'Little House on the Prairie' star Melissa Gilbert shaped a generation of women
- The United States and China are expected to win the most medals at the Paris Olympics
- New Mexico special legislative session to focus on public safety initiatives
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Black immigrant rally in NYC raises awareness about racial, religious and language inequities
Sudden Little Thrills: The Killers, SZA, Wiz Khalifa, more set to play new Pittsburgh festival
Zendaya Serves Another Ace With Stunning Look at L.A. Challengers Premiere
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Biden is seeking higher tariffs on Chinese steel as he courts union voters
A storm dumps record rain across the desert nation of UAE and floods the Dubai airport
Carl Erskine, longtime Dodgers pitcher and one of the Boys of Summer, dies at 97