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Brooklyn jury convicts murder parolee of killing woman, severing her head and limbs
By
Samantha Max
Published May 8, 2026
Modified May 8, 2026
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Jose De Sousa / Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published May 8, 2026
Modified May 8, 2026
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A Brooklyn jury convicted an 87-year-old of killing and dismembering a woman in an East New York apartment, the district attorney’s office announced Friday. The defendant, Harvey Marcelin, was on parole at the time after being convicted of two other killings.
Jurors found Marcelin guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse, prosecutors said. They returned the verdict after one hour of deliberations, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office.
Marcelin faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.
“This conviction holds the defendant accountable for the cruel and reprehensible murder of Susan Leyden,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “Following the senseless murder, the defendant desecrated the victim’s remains in a manner that truly shocks the conscience. I hope Ms. Leyden’s family finds a measure of solace in this guilty verdict, which ensures this defendant will never walk free again.”
The case made headlines at the time, as Leyden’s body parts were discovered and information came to light about Marcelin’s past convictions. The killing was also featured on an episode of the True Crime NYC TV show and various true crime podcasts.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage shows Leyden, 68, entering Marcelin’s apartment on Feb. 27, 2022. But she was never seen leaving alive.
Additional video footage shows Marcelin wheeling around a shopping bag in which Leyden’s torso was later found, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors said investigators later discovered the woman’s head and limbs in Marcelin’s apartment, as well as blood, cleaning supplies, a hammer and the box for an electric saw.
Leyden’s legs turned up in a nearby garbage can several days later, the DA’s office said.
The medical examiner’s office determined that Leyden suffered blunt force trauma to her head and other injuries. Prosecutors said Marcelin and Leyden both lived in the same shelter in the Bronx in 2019, but that questions remained about the nature of their relationship.
Marcelin was convicted of first-degree murder in a separate case in Manhattan in 1963, according to prosecutors. In that case, Marcelin fatally shot their then-girlfriend in a Harlem apartment building, The New York Times reported. Marcelin was released on parole in 1984 and stabbed another woman to death less than a year later, according to The Times.
Marcelin’s defense attorney declined to comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
brooklyn
public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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