Prosecutors say a 42-year-old Brooklyn man has been indicted on murder and manslaughter charges after he admitted to killing his wife.
Phillip Martin was arraigned on second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and concealment of a human corpse charges in Brooklyn, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Thursday.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge ordered him held without bail.
"The allegations against this defendant are truly disturbing and we are determined to hold him responsible for this barbaric murder," Gonzalez said.
Relatives of Diana Rodriguez became worried mid-February after not hearing from her for almost a month and went to the apartment the 43-year-old shared with Martin to look for her, prosecutors said.
Martin allegedly told Rodriguez's family that she had left him about a month prior, but gave conflicting accounts on her whereabouts, the DA said. Her relatives then reported her missing.
The Prospect-Lefferts Garden man was arrested Feb. 16. Prosecutors said he told detectives he killed his wife around his birthday on Jan. 14, then kept her body in the living room for a week.
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In his statements, he admitted to using a saw to dismember her remains and stashed the body parts using garbage bags and a laundry cart before dumping them in trash cans on the street, prosecutors said. Her body has not been found.
Martin's next court date is May 4. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
