Body found in Yonkers leads to gruesome crime scene in the Bronx. Sources say suspects took MetroNorth to dump the remains.
YONKERS, N.Y. -- A body found burning early Monday on the Oak Street Bridge in Yonkers has been linked to more remains inside a Bronx apartment, sources tell CBS New York.
Authorities believe the victim was killed inside the apartment, then much of the body was bundled up and put in a shopping cart, wheeled to the Melrose MetroNorth train station, taken a few stops north to Mount Vernon West and the, according to police, left on the Oak Street Bridge in Yonkers and set on fire.
Investigators used surveillance video to trace the suspects on a train to Yonkers and then back to the Bronx, sources say. The NYPD executed a search warrant Monday night at the apartment on Rogers Place in Longwood, where they found parts of a body, including hands and teeth, as well as a gun and drug paraphernalia.
Investigators from the Bronx DA's office and NYPD crime scene investigators were at the apartment throughout the day Tuesday.
The five-story walk-up sits at the corner of 163rd Street, where a mural pays tribute to the late rapper Christopher "Big Pun" Rios. It's a popular stop on Bronx hip-hop tours, and police were seen mingling at times with dozens of tourists.
"That's really scary. It's really, really crazy. So you're not really safe now, in New York, you're not safe. You're walking around, but you always have to watch your back," Longwood resident Rokhaya Gaye said.
"Very sinister and methodical. Sinister and methodical. Sad. Very sad," Longwood resident Bruce Maine said.
Body found burning Oak Street Bridge in Yonkers
Yonkers police said the initial body parts were found around 2 a.m. Monday on the sidewalk of the Oak Street Bridge near the Yonkers-Mt. Vernon border.
Police said it had been placed inside a collapsible shopping cart and then set on fire. They determined this appeared to be a "dump site" and turned the homicide investigation over to the NYPD and Bronx County District Attorney's Office.
The victim's identity is still unknown at this time. According to police, the body was burned so badly, investigators are having a hard time figuring out who they were and how they died.
