Nassau County police believe murder of woman in Farmingdale may be linked to death of man who was struck by train nearby

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A woman has reportedly been found beheaded on a Long Island street in what witnesses first believed was a grisly Halloween prank.

Police believe there may be a link between the murder of the woman, whose decapitated body was discovered in Farmingdale at about 8pm on Tuesday, and the death of a man who was struck by a train minutes later.





A taxi passenger, Jack Imperial, 41, of Queens, told Newsday that he saw a severed head on one side of the road and a decapitated woman’s body on the other, on her back and fully clothed.

Police declined to comment when asked to confirm that the body was decapitated. White sheets could be seen on the bloodstained street on Wednesday, about 10ft apart.

A half-hour after the body of the woman, who was in her 60s, was found, a man in his 30s was killed by a Long Island rail road train.

“Right now we feel there’s a connection between the two individuals,” Detective Michael Bitsko told Newsday.

The gory scene was discovered outside a well-manicured, two-story brick building. A house across the street was festively decorated with Halloween pumpkins, fake cobwebs and a mock graveyard.

“At first, everyone thought it was like a Halloween prank,” said neighbor Barbara Smalls.. She also thought it may have been “a mob hit”.

“This doesn’t happen here,” said Smalls. “This is a very nice, nice neighborhood. People are very friendly.”

Another neighbor, Nick Gordon, told Newsday he left his apartment after noticing flashing emergency lights and saw a trail of blood down the stairs.