Mutilated body found burning in shopping cart leads to gruesome discovery in Bronx kitchen, police say

Human remains that were set on fire and — according to sources close to the investigation — at least partially dismembered were found in a shopping cart Monday morning in Yonkers, New York.

That led investigators to a gruesome scene at a kitchen in the Bronx, according to officials.

'We want to make sure we're doing everything right.'

Yonkers Police said officers were called about a fire underneath the Oak Street Bridge over the Bronx River Parkway just before 2 a.m. When firefighters with the Mount Vernon Fire Department responded, they put out the fire and then discovered the human remains in a shopping cart.

Yonkers police determined the body “had been placed in a shopping cart and apparently set on fire at that location," News12 Westchester reported.

Sources close to the investigation told WABC-TV the body was at least partially dismembered, but the station added that a Yonkers Police spokesperson refused to confirm that information.

Police told News12 Westchester that media reports regarding the body having been dismembered were premature and that information couldn’t be determined because of the fire.

Officials also said the condition of the remains makes it extremely difficult to determine the cause of death. They also said it was unclear whether the person had been killed at the scene or killed somewhere else and brought to the scene.

Investigators said Tuesday that they found human remains in a kitchen of a residence on Rogers Place in the Bronx and indicated they believe those remains are related to those found burning in Yonkers. The two locations are about eight miles apart. Authorities also reported finding drug paraphernalia and a gun in the bedroom of the Bronx residence.

WNBC reported that a high-ranking NYPD source said investigators obtained video of a man pushing a shopping cart onto a Metro-North train in the Bronx that appeared to match the shopping cart later found burning in Yonkers.

That same official told WNBC that the body found burning had its teeth knocked out and its hands missing, implying that someone was trying to prevent identification of the victim.

Police said they had not yet ascertained the victim's identity, gender, or age. The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the victim's cause of death.

"This is at the border of a couple of jurisdictions here, so we want to make sure we're doing everything right, collecting all the evidence possible," said Detective Sergeant Frank Didomizio.

Police said their investigation was ongoing and no one had yet been arrested. They were seeking witnesses and reviewing security video from the area.

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