Transit police in New York City have captured a man carrying a date rape drug at Penn Station in connection with the discovery of a dead woman stuffed in a suitcase near an apartment complex on suburban Long Island, according to authorities.
Ronald Schroeder, 41, pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing a human corpse and possession of both methamphetamine and GHB at his arraignment Saturday, court records show.
The victim, 31-year-old Seikeya Jones, was found with her wrists and ankles tied inside a suitcase dumped on Nassau Road in Huntington last week, Newsday reported, citing prosecutors' courtroom remarks. That's about 40 miles east of the city.
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Schroeder, whose listed address is at an apartment building adjacent to the suitcase, did not appear in court himself due to an illness, according to the paper, but prosecutors claimed he gave a "detailed admission" after investigators allegedly encountered the scent of human remains in his home.
Judge Jennifer Henry ordered Schroeder remanded without bail, and he is due back in court Thursday.
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Jones' family reported her missing on Aug. 16, according to ABC 7.
A 911 caller reported suspicious activity in the woods outside the Huntington apartment building on Sept. 3, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement.
Responding officers found the suitcase, and investigators later identified Jones as the victim.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority police captured Schroeder at Manhattan's Penn Station around 2 p.m. Friday on an outstanding drug warrant, according to authorities.
Then they tacked on the possession of a controlled substance charge after allegedly finding gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, also known as the date rape drug GHB.
Police had not yet released Jones' cause and manner of death as of Monday morning. Additional charges appear likely.
