Current:Home > reviewsThey found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case. -Aspire Money Growth
They found a head in her fridge. She blamed her husband. Now she's charged in the case.
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:59:14
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! (87)
Related
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Taylor Swift name-drops Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas on new song. Here’s why
- Utah and Florida clinch final two spots at NCAA championship, denying Oklahoma’s bid for three-peat
- The NBA playoffs are finally here. And as LeBron James says, ‘it’s a sprint now’
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Heart, the band that proved women could rock hard, reunite for a world tour and a new song
- Is the US banning TikTok? What a TikTok ban would mean for you.
- Tsunami possible in Indonesia as Ruang volcano experiences explosive eruption, prompting evacuations
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and ‘American Idol’ alum, dies at 47
Ranking
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Trader Joe's recalls basil from shelves in 29 states after salmonella outbreak
- House GOP's aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan advance — with Democrats' help
- Man dies in fire under Atlantic City pier near homeless encampment
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- From 'Argylle' to 'Rebel Moon Part 2,' here are 15 movies you need to stream right now
- Here’s how to smooth eye wrinkles, according to a plastic surgeon
- Pennsylvania board’s cancellation of gay actor’s school visit ill-advised, education leaders say
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Taylor Swift breaks our hearts again with Track 5 ‘So Long, London'
NYPD arrests over 100 at pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University
Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' is boosting many different industries. Here are few
Travis Hunter, the 2
Judge drops some charges against ex-Minnesota college student feared of plotting campus shooting
What is ARFID? 8-year-old girl goes viral sharing her journey with the rare eating disorder.
Police called in to North Dakota state forensic examiner’s office before her firing