A 21-year-old man was convicted of murdering his cousin and dumping her body in a plastic bin on a Bronx sidewalk — while he took money from her, used her home and tricked her young child into helping cover up his crime, according to the district attorney.
A jury found Khalid Barrow guilty on Wednesday of second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and other charges for the brutal killing of his cousin, Nisaa Walcott. The 35-year-old mother's body was found in a storage bin on University Avenue, in the Highbridge neighborhood in Feb. 202, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Investigators connected Barrow to Walcott's death through surveillance video from her apartment building and near the site where it was believed he dumped her, law enforcement sources said. He was arrested a day after the body was found.
A man who who goes to the area to find things to resell made the gruesome discovery after spotting a leg.
Detectives believed the cousin used Walcott's cell phone to throw off family members concerned about her whereabouts after she hadn't been seen for days. But text messages allegedly sent from the phone weren't consistent with previous conversations.
Officials also said video reviewed by detectives appear to show the cousin at Walcott's East Harlem building, removing a large, plastic container around 12 a.m. Friday. A second individual can be seen on the video helping transport the container and unload it at the Bronx address where Walcott was found, senior officials said.
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Bragg said that Barrow concealed the body for days "while he stole her money, used her apartment, and tricked her young child to cover his tracks. Her death left a hole in her family that can never be filled, and my heart goes out to her loved ones."
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Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
