Current:Home > ScamsThey found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case. -Wealth Empowerment Academy
They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case.
View
Date:2025-04-15 23:47:20
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 nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- DEA shutting down two offices in China even as agency struggles to stem flow of fentanyl chemicals
- Is ‘Judge Judy’ on the Supreme Court? Lack of civics knowledge leads to colleges filling the gap
- Jane’s Addiction cancels its tour after onstage concert fracas
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Sunday Night Football: Highlights, score, stats from Texans' win vs. Bears
- A pipeline has exploded and is on fire in a Houston suburb, forcing evacuations
- The next generation of Buffetts is poised to become one of the biggest forces in philanthropy
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Lawsuit says Alabama voter purge targets naturalized citizens
Ranking
- Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
- Medicare Open Enrollment is only 1 month away. Here are 3 things all retirees should know.
- Emmys: What you didn't see on TV, including Jennifer Aniston's ticket troubles
- Chiefs show gap between them and other contenders is still quite large
- RFK Jr. grilled again about moving to California while listing New York address on ballot petition
- How Connie Chung launched a generation of Asian American girls named ‘Connie’ — and had no idea
- MLB power rankings: Yankees, Aaron Judge get comfortable in AL East penthouse
- New York officials to release new renderings of possible Gilgo Beach victim
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Martin Sheen, more 'West Wing' stars reunite on Oval Office set at Emmys
'We don't want the hits': Jayden Daniels' daredevil style still a concern after QB's first win
An 8-year-old Ohio girl drove an SUV on a solo Target run
Connie Chiume, Black Panther Actress, Dead at 72: Lupita Nyong'o and More Pay Tribute
Polaris Dawn was a mission for the history books: Look back at the biggest moments
Emmys: What you didn't see on TV, including Jennifer Aniston's ticket troubles
Bridge Fire destroys 54 structures, injures 3 firefighters: See wildfire map