Son Charged With Murder, Second Man Also Charged In Bronx Dismemberment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man has been charged with the murder of his mother, and a second man has been hit with other charges, after the 45-year-old woman's dismembered body was found in trash bags scattered across a Bronx neighborhood.
On Tuesday, police arrested 23-year-old Bahsid McLean in connection with the death of his mother, Tanya Byrd. Authorities also arrested McLean's friend, 26-year-old William Harris, on Wednesday, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
McLean has been charged with murder in the case, police said Wednesday night.
McLean and Harris also have both been charged with hindering prosecution and unlawful dissection of a human body. Harris also faces charges of criminal possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Both men had been questioned by police and allegedly implicated each other in the killing, Jones reported.
Byrd's remains were found in a trash bag by a man out walking his dog around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday near East 156th Street and Eagle Avenue in Melrose, police said.
The dog was attracted to the scent coming from one of the bags and when the man opened it, he found the remains and called 911.
"When I stuck my hand in the bag, I thought I felt a baby," the man, who did not want to be identified, told CBS 2.
When officers arrived with cadaver dogs, they found body parts inside heavy-duty plastic garbage bags and inside a duffel bag among the piles of trash, police said. The remains were found in at least four different locations, police said.
"They came real fast, and the officer jumped on top of the bag, and he opened the bag, and when he jumped back and said, 'Oh my God,'" the dog owner said. "I almost went into tears, because I thought he found a baby. But he said, 'No, it's hands and arms.'"
The first bag that was found contained a leg. The second had a leg and an arm. A portion of the victim's torso with shoulders was found in a third. In another bag, a head.
Police cordoned off a large crime scene and spent Tuesday morning searching for evidence, interviewing witnesses and looking for surveillance video.
Inside Byrd's apartment she shared with her son, investigators said they found suspicious items, including a saw and bleach, CBS 2 reported.
Byrd, a home health aide, has two adult children and a 7-year-old son with Down Syndrome.
Her daughter, Porscha Lovett, said she spoke with her brother inside the police precinct Tuesday.
"He looked me in the eyes and he told me he did nothing wrong," Lovett said. "He had a lot of hatred towards my mother."
McLean has six prior arrests, including one for assaulting a police officer. Lovett said her brother has held a grudge since childhood and has a history of mental problems.
"When we were kids, she wasn't the best mom, but she tried to make up for the fact that she wasn't there for us," she said. "He could never get over the fact that she wasn't."
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