Harvey Marcelin, 83, arrested in connection to woman's body parts found in Brooklyn, was previously convicted of killing 2 women
NEW YORK -- There was disbelief and terror outside 50 Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn on Thursday as an 83-year-old tenant was arrested after a woman's body parts were found nearby.
Residents and building workers learned Harvey Marcelin, who was previously convicted of killing two women, was arrested again and charged with concealment of a human corpse and second-degree murder, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported Thursday.
"I think it's horrible. But that's all I know," a building worker said. "It's very upsetting. It's very disturbing, yes."
Police initially discovered a woman's torso in a bag last Thursday morning down the block at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Atlantic Avenues.
The criminal complaint said surveillance cameras captured Marcelin walking out of the building and leaving that bag at the corner. It went on to say "a search warrant was executed for the defendant's residence wherein a human head was discovered."
Brooklyn neighbors of Susan Leyden were horrified after learning of her sudden death.
"I'm just heartbroken," neighbor Mary Pupko told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
"She was a quiet woman. I got the sense that she liked to shop. She was really stylish," another neighbor said. "It will take a long time to process this."
State records show Marcelin was convicted of murder in 1963 for shooting a woman to death. She was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and released in 1984. In 1986, Marcelin was convicted of manslaughter for stabbing a second woman to death. She was just released again in 2019.
"They have murdered other people, and this is the heartbreak. This is just, should never have happened," Pupko said.
In a statement, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in part, "The facts of this horrific case are gruesome and unsettling, and my heart is with the victim's family and friends."
Right now, it's unclear how the victim and suspect knew each other.
Marcelin is being held without bail on Rikers Island.
