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Severed Human Head Found In Long Island Yard
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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Yesterday afternoon, a human head was found in the yard of a Hempstead Village home. Last week, two arms were found in different Hempstead yards, a few days after human remains were found in Bay Shore.
According to Newsday, "Hempstead police said the head was found by a village resident about 4:50 p.m. in the front yard bushes of a Boylston Street home. 'He noticed a bunch of birds around the bushes and thought that was unusual,' [Deputy Mayor Waylyn] Hobbs said."
Jonathan Grier, 51, who lives in the home, recalled an awful smell while mowing his lawn last Friday.
But he didn't look because he feared he'd make a gruesome discovery, he said.
"I told my sister, 'Something is dead in these bushes and I'm not going to look for it,' " said Grier, a landscaper. "It's crazy."
On Thursday, two of his neighbors found the head in a black, plastic grocery bag, he said.
Nassau County police are investigating the incident and are working with Suffolk County authorities to see if the head and other body parts might belong to the same person. They are awaiting DNA tests, and will determine whether the remains may be that of Chinelle Latoya Browne, a missing 27-year-old Brooklyn resident. The Post reported last week that a tattoo on one of the arms matched a tattoo Browne has.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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