Remains of a man and woman were found scattered across Long Island. The suspects were freed without bail
The grisly discovery of body parts of two victims that were found scattered across Long Island sent a shiver through the community in the wake of the Gilgo Beach Murders and MS-13 killings. Four people were arrested, but later released and have not been charged in the murders. Andrea Cavallier reports on what we know so far
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Over the course of a week, body parts — including two severed heads — were discovered scattered across New York’s Long Island.
It all began when a girl found an arm while walking to school in Babylon near Southards Park in Suffolk County on 29 February.
This led to a police search in the area that found several other dismembered body parts in the area. Fingertips were missing from the severed arms.
Just days later, a group of high school students stumbled upon more body parts. On 5 March, additional remains were found in Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, about 10 miles from the first crime scene.
Police in Suffolk County identified the female victim as 59-year-old Donna Conneely and family members identified the male victim as 53-year-old Malcolm Craig Brown, both of Westchester, New York.
Two women and two men were arrested and charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse.
Steven Brown, 44, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, and Amanda Wallace, 40, all of Amityville, New York, and Alexis Nieves, 33, who is homeless – were arraigned and released due to the state’s lenient bail reform policies.
They have not been charged with killing the victims. Brown and Wallace are set to appear in court on Monday while Mackey and Nieves will make their appearance on Tuesday.
The grisly discoveries are the latest shocking example of human remains being dumped in parks, woods and other open spaces on Long Island. Over the years, they’ve included bodies of MS-13 gang violence victims and the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings.
Here’s everything we know – from the remains being found across parks in Babylon and Bethpage, to the victims, to the four suspects who were arrested and then released.
Two severed heads, tattooed arm found by children at parks
The body parts – including two severed heads – were found in multiple locations in Suffolk County between 29 February and 5 March.
According to police, a girl walking to school on 29 February found an arm on the side of the road at Southards Pond Park in Babylon, about 25 miles east of New York City.
Her father called 911 and police later discovered another arm and a leg. All of those remains appeared to belong to the 53-year-old man, police said.
According to police, as officers investigated the crime scene, a canine unit located a leg sticking out of a pile of leaves in a wooded area, not far from the original scene.
The cadaver dog located the head, arm and parts of two legs. Those remains appeared to be from the 59-year-old woman, police said.
A few days later, a group of Long Island high school students found a left arm on the side of a Babylon road on their way to school, police said.
Additional remains found on 5 March in nearby West Babylon and in a state park were from the same two people.
Police said they had executed a search warrant a day earlier at a home in Amityville, a few miles west of Babylon, and that no human remains were located during the search.
Who are the victims?
The dismembered body parts found scattered across Suffolk County were identified by their families and police on 11 March as a man and woman from Yonkers.
Police in Suffolk County identified the female victim as 59-year-old Donna Conneely and family members identified the male victim as 53-year-old Malcolm Craig Brown.
The two shared a last known address in Yonkers, north of New York City, more than 30 miles from where their remains were discovered.
Coreen Bullock and Charles Williams told local news outlets that Malcolm Brown was their younger brother and one of the suspects, Steven Brown, is their cousin.
“We have parents, we’ve lost a brother, Steven Brown is our cousin and our parents and his mom, my aunt, they’re home, they’re suffering, they’re hurting and he has nothing to say,” Mr Williams said.
Coreen Bullock said in a statement that Brown, who was the youngest of three siblings, enjoyed cooking and illustration, as she praised him for his generosity.
“He wasn’t rich, but he would give you the shirt off his back,” Ms Bullock added.
She also revealed to the New York Daily News that her brother spent two decades of his life behind bars, but had been doing well prior to his grisly murder.
“He was incarcerated for approximately 20 years,” Ms Bullock said. “[He] came out and got his life together.”
Brown was serving a 12-year sentence for attempted murder in 2002 at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York, according to records.
Andre Brown, who’s married to a cousin of Malcolm Brown, told the outlet that he had been doing his longest stretch of freedom since he was first incarcerated before police recovered his dismembered remains.
“He rarely spent time out,” Andre Brown said. “I think this time period before he got killed was pretty much the longest time he’s been out of jail.”
Four suspects arrested in grisly case
Four people have been charged in connection to the case on charges of first-degree hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, and concealment of a human corpse.
Steven Brown, 44, and Amanda Wallace, 40, appeared in court on Monday in Central Islip, where the judge ordered their GPS monitoring to remain in place.
Jeffrey Mackey, 38, and Alexis Nieves, 33, made their appearance on Friday. The foursome pleaded not guilty but could not be held due to the state’s lenient bail reform policies.
On 29 April 2024, officials announced that Mr Mackey and Ms Nieves were charged with murder. The pair pleaded not guilty to the crimes during an arraignment hearing, The Associated Press reported.
An attorney for Ms Nieves, Christopher Gioe, said that his client maintains her innocence, while Mr Mackey’s attorney said that he would fight the charges.
The Investigation
The four suspects were arrested after police executed a search warrant at the Amityville home that Ms Wallace, Mr Mackey and Mr Brown share.
Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder said authorities have significant evidence against the four, including meat cleavers, butcher knives, blood and video surveillance, according to Newsday.
Mr Brown’s attorney, Ira Weissman, said, “Steven Brown didn’t kill anybody.” Weissman said he could not comment on the specific charges Mr Brown faces, as he has not seen the evidence, The Associated Press reported.
A Family Connection
Coreen Bullock and Charles Williams spoke out about losing their brother and their connection with one of the suspects.
“He was our baby brother, he was not perfect but nobody deserves murder like this and his cousin has something to do with it,” Ms Bullock said, referring to their cousin Steven Brown.
In court during the hearing, the victim’s other sibling Charles Williams shouted in court to his cousin to do the right thing.
“It’s absurd that four people could murder two people and just get to walk out like that,” Ms Bullock said.
Political battle over bail reform
Suffolk County legislators from both sides of the aisle are calling for change to New York’s bail laws after four suspects arrested in connection to the discovery of body parts were released on supervised release without bail.
At a press conference last week, the leaders condemned Governor Kathy Hochul’s comments on the issue.
“Maybe the DA should have done a more thorough investigation and brought murder charges, or conspiracy to commit murder, or even assault charges because all of them are bail-eligible. Maybe they brought it a little early,” Gov Hochul said.
“I encourage the DA’s office to go back and build your case. Because if you bring all of those charges, which I think would be appropriate, that’s absolutely bail-eligible. These people would not be out on the street.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney fired back, calling Gov Hochul.
“Governor Hochul is either completely clueless or being deceitful about how the criminal justice system works. Prosecutors have a duty to bring only charges that are supported by evidence. Anything else would be unethical. The Suffolk County Police Homicide Detectives are the best in the country, and they are working 24-7 on this case. For the Governor to criticize the efforts of these detectives without knowing any of the facts in defence of a broken bail system is both baffling and indefensible,” Tierney said.
“When law enforcement had enough evidence to arrest these defendants for serious felonies, they did the right thing and made those arrests. Did the Governor want the police to leave them out despite having evidence that they cut up and disposed of two bodies? The Governor’s platform on public safety is laughably inadequate and she should know enough not to comment on ongoing investigations. It would be helpful if the Governor confined her comments to subjects that she knows something about.”