07 March 2024 , 23:02
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Four people have been arrested after allegedly hiding the arms and heads of two bodies that were found scattered across a park by a schoolgirl.
Roommates Steven Brown, 44, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, and Amanda Wallace, 40, were charged alongside homeless woman Alexis Nieves, 33 for the concealment of a human corpse, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence, according to Suffolk County Police.
Numoureos body parts including a severed head, arms, and legs belonging to a 59-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman from Yonks were discovered by a girl on her way to school on Thursday in the park in New York.
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A home was raided on Railroad Avenue in New York (Newsday via Getty Images)Suffolk police said the four allegedly removed "sharp instruments, multiple body parts, and other related items” from a home on Amitville’s Railroad Avenue between February 27 – when the first remains were found by a young girl walking to school – and Monday.
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“In disposing of the body, this defendant rendered the sink, showers, drains, and toilets inoperable", Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder said at Mackey’s arraignment.
Alexis Nieves, 33, leaves court (News12)“The barbaric lengths this defendant went to in disposing of these bodies should show the court the lengths this defendant would go to flee the prosecution of these charges.”
Despite the four suspects being arrested and charged, under 2019 bail reform laws the charges of mutilation and disposing of murdered corpses are no longer bail-eligible. This means the prosecution is unable to ask to bail the suspects, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
Steven Brown covered his face (News12)"This is yet another absurd result thanks to ‘Bail Reform’ and a system where the Legislature in Albany substitutes their judgment for the judgment of our judges and the litigants in court," Tierney said.
Jeffrey Mackey, 38, was one of two men charged. (News12)"We will work with the Suffolk County Police Department to resolve this investigation as soon as possible and implore our Legislature to make common sense fixes to this law."
The four suspects will be instead placed on supervised release and are required to wear a GPS ankle, report to probation once a week, remain in Suffolk County, and surrender their passports. It is unclear what their motive was and how the accused may have known each other.
Suspect Amanda Wallace (News12)“The court understands that it has a responsibility to release on recognizance unless this defendant is a risk to public safety,” District Court Judge Edward Hennessey said each time. “Cash bail is not available with current statutes.”
Cops have found multiple body parts – including two severed heads – near the same park, in the West Babylon woods several miles away and in Bethpage State Park. All four suspects maintain their innocence.