A man whose headless body was recovered from waters near Jamaica Bay may have hanged himself nearby, police believe – the death being the fourth body found in the area since November, authorities said Saturday.
The unidentified remains were found shortly before 9 p.m. Friday near 165th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens, and a rope was found hanging from the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge about 1,000 feet away, cops said .
It’s unclear how the man died, but the “theory is that he hanged himself” and his body fell into the water, police said.
The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause and manner of his death.
This macabre discovery constitutes the fourth body washed up on the beach since November.
“This is an unusual amount of bodies in a relatively short period of time,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who represents much of the Rockaways.
“I can’t remember any other time where we saw four bodies washing dishes over a five-month period – especially outside of the summer season,” she said. “This is extremely disconcerting, and I’m sure the NYPD is conducting a thorough investigation to determine if there is any pattern here.”
A 35-year-old man who works at the nearby Vetro restaurant and identified himself as James R. said a large emergency response took place when the remains were found, including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
“I’ve worked here about 13 years and I can say it’s summer when things like this happen, not bodies, but water rescues and overturned kayaks,” he said. “Every time someone falls in the water or there is a water rescue, a helicopter shows up. There was no helicopter yesterday, so my thing is, it’s not someone drowning. If there is no helicopter, that’s something else.
New York Post
