Official: NYPD to use facial recognition software to help ID woman
A woman's remains were found in Canarsie Park in Brooklyn Monday.
The NYPD will use facial recognition software to help identify the limbless body of a woman found Monday night in a well-traveled Brooklyn park, a high-ranking law enforcement official said on Tuesday.
Police officers responding shortly after 6 p.m. Monday to a 911 call about a body in Canarsie Park, found the head and torso of a black woman under leaves and branches near a park pathway by the Paerdegat Basin, officials said.
The area is north of the Belt Parkway and close to East 86th Street and Seaview Avenue.
On Tuesday, police officers found plastic bags in the park containing human arms and legs but it was unknown if they belonged to the woman discovered the day before, officials said.
The medical examiner is inspecting the bagged remains. A spokeswoman for the city medical examiner said the autopsy results for the torso were pending on Tuesday.
“The body was obviously deposited there,” said the high-ranking official of the head and torso. “Why take off the limbs? To shut down the identification of the person.”
Because of a lack of decomposition, investigators believe the woman was recently killed and dismembered at a different location before being dumped in the park and hastily covered with vegetation.
The park, located in a residential area of Canarsie, is popular with joggers and cyclists.
If the body parts found Tuesday are from the torso, investigators may be able to do fingerprint analysis to come up with leads.
Detectives will use a photograph of the woman’s head in conjunction with the software to see if it matches any facial images already in the NYPD system, the official said. If attempts at facial recognition fail, investigators will go over missing persons reports in an attempt to identify the victim, the official.
“We will know more when we identify her,” the official added.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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