Suffolk homicide investigators have found more severed body parts within the perimeter of Southards Pond Park in Babylon — this time a female head, leg and arm.
Detectives believe they’re from the same woman, but only an autopsy will be able to determine that for sure.
The female head, leg and arm were discovered Thursday before nightfall along the western edge of the park and across from the park’s eastern perimeter of Siegel Boulevard between Park and Mason avenues — where male body parts were found that morning.
The male body parts included two arms (left and right) and a leg.
“Based on the conditions [of the body parts], preliminarily, it appears it’s a matter of a small amount of days — if not hours — that they were out here,” Lt. Kevin Beyrer, commanding officer of the Suffolk homicide squad, told reporters during a briefing Friday morning.
[That briefing had previously been posted to the News 12 Long Island website.]
“We’re going to do a thorough search of this park,” Lt. Beyrer said. “We believe the persons who dumped the bodies here were mobile, so I’m pretty confident a car was involved.”
While cars aren’t permitted in Southards Pond Park, he said, there is room enough to drive through parts of the park’s wooded areas, which stretch from the middle of Babylon Village through North Babylon and into Belmont Lake State Park in West Babylon, roughly a three mile-span.
Lt. Beyrer was also asked at the scene if the public should be concerned about their own safety.
“Right now we’re focusing on identifying these people, and when the identification is made some answers will be revealed to us,” he said in response. “That’s our focus right now.”
The male body parts do have tattoos and those photos will be run through a law enforcement tattoo database, which could further assist in the identifications as the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting the autopsies, police said.
Greater Long Island has acquired a photo of the severed arm that was found Thursday morning from a source, but decided not to publish it due to its graphic nature.
In the photo, the arm is severed just above the bicep, and it appears that at least three fingertips were also cut from the hand. At least three tattoos can be seen in the photo: one on the bicep, one on the forearm, and another on the back of the hand.
Police on Friday said the female body parts did not contain any tattoos.
Lt. Beyrer was able to say confidently that all the body parts belonged to adults, and said police will continue to search the park’s perimeters before possibly moving into its interior.
The background
Things started to unfold at 8:41 a.m. on Thursday, when a female student walking to class happened upon a severed left arm that was dumped along the eastern perimeter of Southards Pond Park, a family-friendly recreational area known for its large fishing pond and scenic nature trails.
The arm was found in brush along Siegel Boulevard, between Park Avenue and Mason Avenue, Suffolk police confirmed to Greater Long Island.
The student promptly called her parents, who then contacted the police. Another arm and a leg were found by police shortly after arriving upon the scene Thursday morning.
“That’s just really, really crazy. Terrible,” one neighbor who lives across from the crime scene told Greater Long Island on Thursday. “It’s mostly quiet here. Kids playing. They got the dog park. The only time I’ve ever seen activity is when they hold events on Main Street.”
The Village of Babylon has since closed the park as the investigation continues.
Click here for Thursday’s coverage. Check back for updates as this is a developing story.
Top: Suffolk homicide investigators on Siegel Boulevard at 4:48 p.m. Thursdays, looking north from Park Avenue. (GLI File Photo/Mike White)
