In a chilling discovery, authorities recovered a suitcase containing human remains from New York’s East River on Wednesday evening. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) confirmed that the suitcase was discovered near Governor’s Island.
Harbor unit responds
The NYPD’s Harbor Unit retrieved the suitcase at approximately 5:30 p.m. and transported it to Pier 16, where emergency medical services declared the individual inside deceased, police said. The identity of the deceased is currently unknown, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is set to investigate the cause of death. Law enforcement has confirmed that the remains belong to an adult, though the age and gender of the individual have not yet been determined. The investigation is ongoing.
Echoes of past crimes: Suitcases as tombs
Sadly, this is not the first instance of human remains being discovered in a suitcase. There have been several murder victims hidden in suitcases by their killers, either killed beforehand and stuffed inside or suffocated inside the baggage item itself.
Unrelated case: Long Island discovery in September 2024
In a separate incident, a decaying body was found in a suitcase next to a Long Island apartment building in September 2024. The discovery was made after residents reported a foul odour emanating from the apartment and noticed a suitcase outside the building. The remains were identified as those of 33-year-old Seikeya Jones. Ronald Schroeder, 41, was apprehended in connection to Jones’ death. It was discovered that Jones had been renting an apartment in the same building as the accused.
Jones was found with her wrists and ankles bound with a cord, though the cause of death remains undetermined.
Terell Jones, Seikeya’s mother, revealed to CBS News that her daughter had been battling mental health issues stemming from addiction.
“I was trying to get her to go back to the hospital. I came up to her and I was like, ‘Keya, you really need to let me take you back to the hospital.’ And she was like, ‘I ain’t going back to the hospital. The medication makes me crazy,'” Terrell told CBS News.
Schroeder has pleaded not guilty to the charge of concealing a corpse as the investigation continues.
