An East Harlem mother’s body was found in a storage container in the Bronx, and her cousin was charged with second-degree murder in connection to her death.
According to ABC 7, Police found Nisaa Walcott, 35, in a bin across from a storage unit at 950 University ave in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. A man who said he routinely searched the facility for items to resell, told authorities that he spotted a human leg during one of his visits. Around 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, they located the body which they later identified as Walcott.
The following day, her cousin, Khalid Barrow, 21, was arrested in connection to her demise and was brought to East Harlem’s 23rd Precinct. Then, on Sunday, Feb. 27, he was arraigned on charges of second-degree murder and three counts of concealment of a human corpse.
Walcott’s family reported her missing on Thursday, Feb. 24, following strange text messages from her phone and multiple missed calls, said NYPD officials. They also said that detectives believed Barrow used her cellphone to throw her relatives off, but they became suspicious after noticing inconsistencies in the conversations. One of the texts reportedly said that the victim was going on a business trip and the suspect would watch her 14-year-old son.
Officials said that video footage, reviewed by the detectives, showed Barrow removing a large plastic container at Walcott’s East Harlem building around 12 a.m. on Friday. A second person was seen assisting him with transporting the container to the place where the 35-year-old hairdresser was found dead in the Bronx.
“It was a woman found, decomposed. I am a woman – a single, Black woman at that, and I have children. This is crazy,” a neighbor named Deedee told ABC 7 about the incident.
Another one of the 35-year-old’s neighbors, Christopher Sanchez, described her relationship with her teenage son saying, “They were close. When it came to her son, that was her top priority. That’s a sad thing.”
One of Walcott’s friends, who went unnamed, reportedly said that she let her cousin stay with her.
“How do you do that to your cousin? She gave you shelter [and] she gave you a place to live. She actually extended her hand, and this is how you repay her?” he asked.
On the other hand, Walcott’s brother was reportedly distraught over his sister’s death and couldn’t find the words to say about his sister. However, he said she was a “beautiful person.”
“Nisaa was a beautiful person. She was a caring, loving woman that really loved her family.”
Her East Harlem community members created a memorial for her by putting candles outside her apartment building.
