New Jersey

Distinct Tattoo Helps Cops Identify Headless Body Found in Brooklyn

The woman is from New Jersey, but police are not releasing her name at this time

Police say they've tentatively identified the woman whose headless body was found floating in Brooklyn's Red Hook Channel earlier this week thanks to her distinct tattoo, though they're not releasing her name at this time. 

The mother of the young woman walked into the 76th Precinct stationhouse Thursday night and told police she recognized the tattoo pictured in the police's request for help identifying the victim, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. 

It was a tribute tattoo to an aunt of the victim, the mother told police. 

The woman is from New Jersey, but police are not identifying her to the public yet as they continue to work on the "active" homicide case, Boyce said Friday. 

"If you saw where the dismemberment was, it could not possibly be an accident," he said. 

The woman's body was recovered with no head, and she was missing parts of her legs. 

A couple walking by the water first found the body Tuesday.

"I said to my husband you know that looks like a body, no, it's two pieces of wood," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "I kept staring at it and clearly the shape was a backside and two thighs." 

The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine how she died. 

Contact Us