Yonkers PD: Body found at Oak Street overpass was placed in shopping cart, set on fire

A body was found early Monday morning near the intersection of Bronx River Road and the Oak Street overpass by a Westchester County Public Safety police officer and the Mount Vernon Fire Department, which were there to extinguish a fire.

Yonkers police determined that the body “had been placed in a shopping cart and apparently set on fire at that location.”

They say media reports that the body was dismembered was premature – and that it couldn’t be determined because of the fire.

“You live close by, a lot of families live close by so it’s kind of scary stuff,” says Yonkers resident Jonathan Martinez.

Dozens of police vehicles were on the scene, and the Yonkers Emergency Services Unit (ESU) was deployed to collect evidence. In a daring maneuver, ESU officers repelled down the bridge to access the area below.

“I was very surprised to hear so I hope whatever is going gets solved,” says Yonkers resident Melissa Patterson.

“This is at the border of a couple of jurisdictions here, so we want to make sure we’re doing everything right, collecting all the evidence possible,” said Detective Sgt. Frank Didomizio.

The identity of the person and the cause of death have not been released, pending an autopsy by the medical examiner.

Investigators officially deemed the investigation to be a homicide. Evidence was discovered “which determined that while the body was set on fire in the confines of the City of Yonkers, it appeared this was merely a ‘dump site’ and the more appropriate primary investigative agency for this homicide is the New York City Police Department.”

Officials say the investigation has been turned over to the New York City Police Department and the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.