February may have brought New York City a record number of murder-free days, but in January, three birdwatchers came across a gruesome sight: a severed human hand, lying palm up, in Brooklyn’s Gravesend beach.
DNAinfo reports that the hand was discovered on the shoreline on Jan. 4. The NYPD investigated further and deduced that it had been decomposing “for a long period of time.” They also found a severed right foot with “a ‘smooth cut’ above the ankle bone across the fibula and tibia bones” nearby. They believe the foot and hand belong to the same body, but have not yet verified this.
The body parts were taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office, but they have not determined who the victim might be — or whether the person was dead before the body was dissected.
If you have any information, please call NYPD Crimestoppers’s confidential tipline: 1-800-577-TIPS.
(Photo: Nicholas Blake)
