Police Probe For Link Between Dismembered Body, Head Found In Hempstead
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Investigators are awaiting a medical examiner's report to determine if what appears to be a human head and other body parts found in a Long Island town are linked to a partially dismembered body discovered weeks earlier in a community 25 miles away.
The latest discovery was reported Thursday in Hempstead, where what appears to be a human head was found in bushes in front of a neatly kept home.
Dorothy Robinson owns the home and the yard in which the head was found Thursday. She told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall that for about a week, she smelled a horrific odor in the bushes on the left side of her home.
"When I found out it was a human head, I was just floored. I was devastated," Robinson told Hall Friday. "I didn't even sleep last night because I just kept having these terrible visions."
Earlier this month, body parts were found at two other nearby homes in Hempstead a day apart.
Authorities previously said forensic testing could determine if the body found in Bay Shore is that of a missing Brooklyn mother of four, Chinelle Latoya Browne.
The 27-year-old's family said she was last seen July 5, and CBS 2 learned that distinct tattoos found on the torso in Bay Shore match those of Browne.
Neighbors told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell last week that Browne had just gotten into a fight with her landlord before she went missing.
"Her hair was all a mess and she put it in a ponytail," neighbor Anthony Smith said. "She walked back down the block, she got in a cab, and nobody saw her again."
Police said the remains found Thursday were taken to the Nassau County Medical Examiner's office for further examination. Investigators are awaiting the results of DNA testing to determine if there's a link to the other body parts found.
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