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Woman found dead inside a trash compactor room in East Harlem building
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 9, 2023
Modified Jun 9, 2023
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Catalina Gonella / Gothamist
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jun 9, 2023
Modified Jun 9, 2023
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A woman was found dead and naked inside a trash compactor room at a building in East Harlem on Friday morning, according to the NYPD.
Police officers responded to the 911 call around 10 a.m. and found the nude woman unresponsive on the second floor of an 11-story building on 107 East 126th St.
Emergency medical services responded to the scene and pronounced her dead. Police said the medical examiner will determine her cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing.
"I was surprised that they would find a dead body in the compactor room," said Jim Ratti, who has lived in the building for 47 years and has served as a leader of the local tenants' association.
He said that he did not know the woman.
"Nobody knows who the person was," he said. "There's so many people sleeping in the steps and stuff here at night."
"I could see they find people sleeping there and taking drugs in there," said Ratti. "But something needs to be done. I'm telling you, they have to up the security here."
Police were not releasing the woman's name to the public Friday afternoon, "pending family notification." They said she is believed to be in her 30s.
This story has been updated with additional information and comment from a resident of the building.
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manhattan
Catalina Gonella
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