NBC New York’s Gilma Avalos reports.
A woman's body — missing a head, arms and legs — was found in a garbage bag in a shopping cart at a Brooklyn intersection early Thursday, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case says.
A person walking by the intersection of Pennsylvania and Atlantic avenues around 1:45 a.m. happened to make the grisly discovery near a pawn shop and other small businesses, and called 911. Sources said that the individual starting pushing the cart because he thought there could be bottles or merchandise inside the bag, but instead made the gruesome discovery.
Detectives are trying to use DNA to identify the victim, given the absence of anything to match to dental or fingerprint records. There were no identifying marks on the dismembered body, with no tattoos or birthmarks. At this point, all they know is the body is an adult female, the source said.
They're also doing an extensive canvas for area surveillance footage that may show a person or people pushing the cart into the area before it was found. Crime scene units with cadaver dogs sifted through nearby garbage bags to see if any more body parts could be found, witnesses said, or if any other evidence could be uncovered.
The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine how the woman died.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
