4 charged in Long Island body parts case, love triangle may have factored
Four suspects have been charged in connection with two sets of body parts strewn about Long Island parks within the past week.
Homicide detectives charged Steven Brown, 44, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, Amanda Wallace, 40, and Alexis Nieves, 33, with hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence and concealing a human corpse. They have not been charged with killing the victims, but it’s unclear if additional charges will follow.
Suffolk County Police said the suspects were arrested after a search warrant was executed Monday night at the Amityville home that Brown, Mackey and Wallace share. Nieves is said to be homeless, but had been staying at the house on Railroad Ave. for a period of time, according to News12 Long Island.
All four suspects were arraigned Wednesday in Suffolk County District Court. They pleaded not guilty and were released without bail, though they’re required to wear GPS monitoring, report to probation in person and surrender their passports.
“Unfortunately, due to ‘bail reform’ passed by the New York State Legislature in 2019, charges related to the mutilation and disposal of murdered corpses are no longer bail eligible,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
At Wednesday’s arraignments, Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder said authorities have significant evident to support their case, including meat cleavers, butcher knives, blood and surveillance video, but did not specify where the weapons and blood were found.
The names of the victims — a 53-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman — have not been released. Investigators said that, at one point, the pair lived together in Yonkers. Police suspect they may have been involved in a love triangle, according to NBC News.
Cops began their investigation last Thursday when a girl walking to school spotted a man’s tattooed arm outside Southards Pond Park in Babylon. A subsequent search of the park turned up his other arm, as well as the head, arm and leg of a female victim.
Body parts believed to belong to the same victims were also found Tuesday roughly 4 miles away in a wooded area in West Babylon. Additional remains were found that same day in Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, about 10 miles from the first crime scene.
District Attorney Tierney confirmed the investigation is ongoing and vowed to work with police to “resolve this investigation as soon as possible.”
Police believe the situation is an isolated incident posing no additional threat to the public.
View more on New York Daily News