NEED TO KNOW

  • The human remains of a woman believed to be in her 50s or 60s were discovered in the basement of an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday, Feb. 1, according to multiple outlets
  • The remains were discovered cut up into pieces by a janitor at the building
  • Neighbor Vincent Valcassel told WABC that “[workers] realized the bags are too heavy, so they opened it up and the first thing they saw was the head staring at them”

Human remains have reportedly been found in an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York.

On Sunday, Feb. 1, a janitor discovered a woman’s body in the basement of a block at The Borinquen Public Houses at 330 Bushwick Avenue in Williamsburg at around 9:30 a.m, according to WABC, CBS News and News12.

Employees from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were working on the lower floor when they found a heavy bag, per WABC.

They then opened it before discovering the human remains that had been chopped up into pieces.

Authorities were subsequently called to the scene with officials believing the remains belonged to a woman in her fifties or sixties, WABC reported.

NYPD crime scene unit investigators working outside 330 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York on Feb. 1, 2026.

Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

NYPD crime scene units were seen taking pictures of trash bags in the incinerator room, according to News 12 cameras.

PEOPLE has contacted the New York Police Department and the New York City Housing Authority for comment, but didn’t immediately receive a response.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Large bags were also seen being removed from the building, witnesses told the outlet.

“The workers heard screaming. They realized the bags are too heavy, so they opened it up and the first thing they saw was the head staring at them, so they ain’t going to be the same anymore. These people work in these buildings,”  neighbor Vincent Valcassel told WABC.

Police outside 330 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York on Feb. 1, 2026.

Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Aniel Riveyra added, “I’m like scared out of my mind. I don’t know what it’s going to go like, if it’s going to continue happening, or is this like a one-time incident?” 

A resident also expressed their shock to News 12 about the woman being left in a bag.

“To take a lady and leave her like that, we are human beings, we are not trash,” they said.

“I don’t even know people have access to the basement. These doors to the buildings are always open, people bring others in and they do all kinds of things,” another resident said.

The woman’s body has since been removed from the scene, according to News 12. Her cause of death is set to be determined by the medical examiner.