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Brooklyn man sentenced to life for killing acquaintance, stashing body in the fridge
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Nov 19, 2025
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Nov 19, 2025
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A judge sentenced a Brooklyn man to life imprisonment without parole on Wednesday for murdering an acquaintance and storing the dismembered body in his refrigerator for years.
A jury found Flatbush resident Nicholas McGee guilty of first-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in October, according to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said McGee, 48, stabbed Kawsheen Gelzer, 39, in the back more than 60 times as Gelzer slept on a sofa in March 2022, citing medical testimony during the trial. McGee also hit Gelzer several times in the head with a hammer, according to the DA’s office.
McGee then dragged Gelzer’s body to the bathroom, where it remained for several days, before McGee eventually dismembered the remains with a saw and hammer, according to prosecutors. The DA’s office said he put the remains into plastic bags and hid them inside a refrigerator and freezer that he sealed shut with tape and glue.
Gelzer’s body was not discovered until years after the murder, when police — following a tip — found the remains during a search in January of last year, prosecutors said.
McGee later went through Gelzer’s pockets and found drugs that he used alongside his codefendant and wife, Heather Stines, 48, according to the DA’s office. Stines, who pleaded guilty last year to concealment of a human corpse and third-degree bail jumping, is still awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors said McGee — who was questioned while in custody in Virginia for an unrelated matter — gave a detailed confession to NYPD detectives in exchange for a cigarette.
“This was a deeply disturbing act of violence by a defendant who not only stole a man’s life, but then desecrated his body. The cruelty and disregard for human life shown in the case are almost beyond comprehension,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement on Wednesday.
McGee's attorney did not comment and a legal representative for Stines did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Wednesday.
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public safety
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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