20 August 2023 , 14:30
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A man's body has been found, wrapped in a plastic rubbish bag and stuffed into a shopping trolley in The Bronx on Saturday, August 19.
Police were called at around 11.15am yesterday about a man who was found unconscious and unresponsive inside of the black plastic bag. The trolley was found at the junction of Whitlock Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard in the New York City borough.
Emergency services attended the scene, however, the unidentified man was pronounced dead by paramedics. Police have said they are withholding his identity until his family has been notified.
Police have now launched an investigation into the bizarre case. It's reported the body was found next to a construction site, with the pavement of Whitlock Avenue near where the body was found closed due to the construction. Police eventually moved the entire body and the trolley into what looked like a body bag before it was removed from the scene at around 3.30pm.
Some residents believe the body had lay there for a while (CBS News)Residents were left shocked by the discovery. With a children's playground just around the corner, many families were outside with their children when the grim discovery was made.
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One woman believes the body had been there since at least Friday, August 18. She said: "I found a man on the corner with a bicycle and he told me he saw yesterday somebody there. He look and say the think somebody died."
A neighbourhood resident, Janise, spoke to ABC 7 New York about the area, and how it causes her concern as it's "always really scary down there." She said: "It's not a good space to walk at night because it's really dark, so anything is possible."
Annette LeGrand spoke of the fears this had sparked. She said: "I have to carry my mace now... I don't know how else I'm gonna live."
Another man who has lived in the neighbourhood for more than four decades said: "I'm surprised, believe me... I know a lot of people cut through here."
The body was found near a large construction site where part of the pavement was closed (CBS News)Ms LeGrand added: "People come around pushing carts and everything, put their garbage there or they dump it right here behind my building."
It's far from the first tragedy the neighbourhood has experienced. In 2018 Lisa Marie Velasquez was killed in an apartment on Longfellow Avenue - just a five-minute walk from where the body in the bin bag was discovered. Her body parts were ultimately discovered scattered in bags at two separate parks in the Bronx.
The 25-year-old had gone to the aid of her friend who had been fighting with Daquan Wheeler, 34, in the apartment they shared. Wheeler reportedly flew into a rage after learning Ms Velasquez had called 911 about the domestic dispute. He beat her with a hammer 14 times and strangled her with a cord. Wheeler was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison in May 2022.