A man’s head and torso were found in a black plastic trash outside an apartment building in New York early Friday morning.
The dismembered parts were left lying on the sidewalk before a crew repairing the street called the city’s non-emergency number with complaints of a ‘foul odor’ at around 9.14am – which was later rerouted to police, the New York Post reports.
But residents had said they spelled the horrid stench coming from a sixth-floor apartment in Brooklyn for days.
‘As soon as that door opened, that whiff would just smack you in the face,’ the next door neighbor told WABC.
‘And we would have the door closed, but like you’d be on the side of the apartment from the entrance and you would still smell it.
‘It definitely was the body,’ he said.
Authorities have not yet released the victim’s name, but family members identified him to the New York Daily News as Darrell Montgomery, who they said was a loving, non-violent man who was looking forward to his 34th birthday next month.
‘I’m thinking this is a dream,’ said his younger sister Shakeema. ‘I was just reading this article yesterday and I didn’t know it was my brother.
Dismembered remains, believed to belong to Darrell Montgomery, were found outside of a Brooklyn apartment building on Friday morning
It remains unclear what may have happened as authorities continue to investigate the finding
Crime scene investigators were seen removing items from Montgomery’s apartment
‘He was just a gentle person,’ she continued, recounting how her older brother would pick her up from school.
‘He was not violent at all – so for this guy, he had to intimidate my brother,’ Shakeema claimed, adding that she wants ‘justice’ for his murder.
It remains unclear what may have happened to Montgomery, but neighbors have said he would often be seen with a much taller man with whom he was living.
The two had been in the building for a few years, moving in soon after the end of the pandemic, neighbors told the Daily News, and they were often seen smoking outside together.
But over the past few days, neighbors said they only saw one of them entering and exiting the apartment – often in a hurry.
Before the remains were found, the building supervisor also alleged that he saw Montgomery’s roommate dumping trash bags outside.
New York City police are seen outside the apartment building
Neighbors said they would hear violent argument coming from the men’s apartment over the past few weeks, before the arguments abruptly stopped – just a few days ago.
‘They would start like arguing with each other and you would just hear “boom, boom, boom, ahh” – screams,’ the men’s next door neighbor recounted.
An investigation into the murder is still ongoing, with cops looking to question the roommate.
In the meantime, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the victim’s cause of death.
