A woman's dismembered body has been found shoved inside a blood-soaked duffel bag in Queens, New York.
Police were alerted to the horrifying discovery this morning (Saturday, April 14) which local residents found on Metropolitan Avenue, near a popular walking path.
Van Nostrand, 51, said he'd been walking through the nearby Forest Park with his two dogs, and was on his way home, when he noticed what he said was a Bauer hockey duffel bag.
At first, he assumed it was just a heavy bag that had been discarded – but it wasn't until his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Philip and Iris, became agitated around the bag – that he decided to open it and look inside.
He told local media: "They are scent hounds. They see the world through their noses."
When he opened the bag, he saw a foot and then a hip, still attached.
He continued: “But to me it looked a mannequin. It didn’t look very fleshy. It was more like a crash test dummy. I thought it was maybe some equipment being used for something. I didn’t think anything of it.”
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The local resident said he then saw black, ankle-length jeans, a belt, and a woman's waist. When he opened the bag fully, he noticed blood on the other side of it.
The body was in the fetal position.
He said: “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness,’ and called police at 8:05am and said there’s a body in this bag."
According to Van Nostrand, "another gentleman" had called police around an hour earlier, but they did not arrive at the scene.
Following his call, a detective arrived, and he gave a full report at the local police station – but while he was attempting to walk home to drop his dogs off, they had other ideas.
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“They kept pulling me,” he said.
The dogs led him to a spot a short distance away from where the body was found, where he saw patches of fresh blood.
“Some of the cops followed me and the dogs to it," he said.
The victim has not yet been identified publicly by police.
“It’s shocking,” the bystander said. “My personal feeling is a broken heart for whoever this is. My heart was in my throat the entire time."
Local Linda Gorniaczyk added: “It’s freaky. As a woman, it’s scary. You listen to true crime stuff and you don’t want to see it in real life, especially in your neighbourhood."
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Another local said she can't wait to leave New York following the grim discovery.
Mara Newman said: “It’s absolutely horrifying. Nothing like this would happen in this neighbourhood. People pay a lot of money to live in Forest Hills. … I’m packed already.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” she added. "I don’t feel safe. I’m not going to be walking here at night. I can’t believe there is a … body thrown on the side of the road.”
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