Investigators have identified two people of persons of interest tied to the grisly discovery of a handless, toothless burnt body that was in a shopping cart under a Yonkers bridge, according to law enforcement sources.
The two men were seen on surveillance video pushing a cart down a street that allegedly had a disremembered body inside, law enforcement sources said. That same cart is believed to be the one that turned up under the Oak Street Bridge, near the Yonkers-Mount Vernon border, around 2 a.m. Monday.
Firefighters had been called about a fire under the bridge, but as soon as they extinguished the flames, they saw the body.
An investigation has found that the victim in the case may have been killed at a home in the Bronx, the same place where more severed body parts linked to the case were found.
Yonkers police say their investigation found the body was set on fire within their jurisdiction, but the killing happened elsewhere. They transferred the case to the NYPD.
Cops executing a search warrant at a home on Rogers Place in the Bronx in connection with the case recovered human remains in the kitchen, finding human hands in a pot and feet in the freezer, law enforcement sources said. A firearm and drug paraphernalia were recovered inside a bedroom.
“Whoever did this wanted to try their best to make sure the victim was never identified,” said retired NYPD Chief Terry Monahan. “The reason anyone would take out teeth, hands feet from an individual is to prevent identification. Once you remove the hands, you no longer can check fingerprints. You take off the teeth you can’t check dental records to see who the individual is.”
It’s not clear exactly what led investigators to that specific location.
A high-ranking NYPD official previously told NBC New York that police have video of a man rolling a shopping cart onto a Metro-North train in the Bronx’s 44th precinct, which appeared to be the same shopping cart later found on fire.
The medical examiner is set to run forensic tests on the remains and body parts to identify the victim and determine the cause of death.
No arrests have yet been made in the disturbing homicide case, nor has anyone been taken into custody. Police said that they, for now, just wish to speak with the two men seen on camera.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.