Current:Home > MyThey found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case. -StockSource
They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case.
View
Date:2025-04-23 12:59:41
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! (4782)
Related
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Why Pamela Anderson Decided to Leave Hollywood and Move to Canada
- MVP repeat? Ravens QB Lamar Jackson separating from NFL field yet again
- Control of Congress may come down to a handful of House races in New York
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- RHOBH's Teddi Mellencamp & Edwin Arroyave's Date of Separation Revealed in Divorce Filing
- Under lock and key: How ballots get from Pennsylvania precincts to election offices
- 3 charged in connection to alleged kidnapping, robbery near St. Louis
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Horoscopes Today, November 4, 2024
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Early Week 10 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
- Georgia man arrested in Albany State University shooting that killed 1 and injured 4
- Abortion rights at forefront of Women’s March rallies in runup to Election Day
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Why the NBA Doesn't Have Basketball Games on Election Day
- Jason Kelce apologizes for cellphone incident at Ohio State-Penn State before Bucs-Chiefs game
- TikToker Bella Bradford, 24, Announces Her Own Death in Final Video After Battle With Rare Cancer
Recommendation
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Kim Kardashian wears Princess Diana pendant to LACMA Art+Film Gala
Ex-officer found guilty in the 2020 shooting death of Andre Hill
Baron Browning trade grades: Who won deal between Cardinals, Broncos?
Average rate on 30
DeAndre Hopkins celebrates first Chiefs TD with 'Remember the Titans' dance
NFL overreactions Week 9: Raiders should trade Maxx Crosby as race for No. 1 pick heats up
Psychotropic Medications and High Heat Don’t Mix