Suspects in case of body parts found scattered across Long Island freed without bail
BABYLON, N.Y. (WPIX) – Four people charged in connection to severed body parts found scattered across Long Island have been freed without bail, according to Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine.
"This is outrageous, and completely unacceptable in a civilized society when our prosecutors are handcuffed and those charged with this heinous crime are mandated by the state to go free," a statement from Romaine read.
Last Thursday, a student discovered a severed arm of a 53-year-old man at the eastern end of Southards Pond Park in Babylon, police said. More body parts belonging to the man and a 59-year-old woman were also found in the park, according to authorities.
More human remains were found on Tuesday in a wooded area across from 103 Lakeway Dr. in West Babylon as well as at Bethpage State Park, police said.
By Wednesday morning, four suspects - Steven Brown, 44, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, Amanda Wallace, 40, and Alexis Nieves, 33 - were charged with concealment of a human corpse, hindering prosecution, and tampering with physical evidence.
In the courtroom, prosecutors said the four defendants "hacked" the two bodies to pieces in a home on Railroad Avenue in Amityville. They said the house was uninhabitable after investigators searched the plumbing for blood and other evidence.
Sources indicated the crimes were not gang-related.
Less than an hour after being arraigned, all four suspects were released from custody without bail.
"Unfortunately, due to 'Bail Reform' passed by the New York State Legislature in 2019, charges relating to the mutilation and disposal of murdered corpses are no longer bail-eligible," read a statement from Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. "This is yet another absurd result thanks to 'Bail Reform' and a system where the Legislature in Albany substitutes their judgment for the judgment of our judges and the litigants in court. We will work with the Suffolk County Police Department to resolve this investigation as soon as possible and implore our Legislature to make common sense fixes to this law."
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner and the police have identified the 59-year-old woman whose body parts were found, and officials have tentatively identified the 53-year-old male. Police did not publicly release their names.
None of the suspects have officially been charged with murder. However, sources expect the addition of murder charges soon, following a grand jury presentation.
Several of the defense attorneys spoke following the arraignments.
"He maintains he's not guilty and just because the district attorney and police say that it is so, does not mean that it is so," said the attorney for Mackey.
"He did not kill anybody," said the attorney for Brown. "As far as I can see from the get-go, this case is based upon a lot of assumptions and we will see what they claim is their evidence."