A New York woman, aged 45, was apprehended after law enforcement officers, conducting a welfare check at her Brooklyn residence, reportedly found a dismembered body, including a decapitated head, in a freezer that was sealed with tape. The woman, Heather Stines, was detained on unrelated charges while police await a search warrant for the property, according to official sources.
The deceased individual has been identified as Kawsheen Gelzer, a 40-year-old man with a history of arrests, as reported by WNBC, a local NBC affiliate. The incident is currently being investigated as a murder, possibly linked to a drug-related dispute, according to high-ranking NYPD officials privy to the investigation.
The report states that on Monday, January 22, around 6:15 a.m., NYPD officers responded to a welfare check request at Stines’ fourth-floor apartment on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush. An anonymous tip to CrimeStoppers had alerted police to the possibility of a body being stored in a refrigerator in the apartment.
Upon their arrival, Stines allowed the officers into her home. However, her demeanor reportedly became more aggressive when the sealed freezer caught the attention of the officers. As the police began inspecting the appliance, Stines’ behavior escalated, resulting in her being detained and removed from the premises.
Subsequently, it was discovered that Stines had several outstanding warrants for minor theft, leading to her arrest, as reported by the New York Post. Stines was later taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation after complaining of illness.
Inside the freezer, officers reportedly found multiple black trash bags containing dismembered human remains. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny confirmed to the Post that body parts were found in the freezer. Although initially uncertain, Kenny later stated that it seemed all the remains belonged to the same individual.
The body was identified as Gelzer’s due to his unique tattoos, which were on record from his previous arrests. While Stines was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at Brookdale Hospital, she was shown a photo of Gelzer and confirmed that he was the dismembered body in her freezer. She alleged that her husband, currently incarcerated in a Virginia prison on unrelated charges, murdered Gelzer in September and stored the remains in the freezer.
The cause of death will be determined by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, but sources reportedly told the Daily Mail that they must first allow the body parts to thaw.