Investigators say a NYCHA employee opened a heavy trash bag in a compactor room and found the remains Sunday morning.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — New York City police on Monday identified the woman found dismembered in the basement of a Williamsburg apartment building as Michelle Montgomery, 39. A New York City Housing Authority worker discovered the remains just after 9:30 a.m. Sunday inside the compactor room at Borinquen Houses on Bushwick Avenue and called 911.
Detectives are treating the case as a homicide while the Office of Chief Medical Examiner conducts an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. Investigators have not announced any arrests. The discovery rattled the NYCHA complex and surrounding blocks, prompting a floor-by-floor canvass, evidence collection in the basement areas, and a review of building logs and cameras. Police said they are tracing Montgomery’s movements in the hours before she vanished and are appealing for information from residents and businesses near the building.
Officers were first dispatched at 9:38 a.m. after NYCHA staff reported finding what they believed to be human remains in a black plastic bag. The employee later told investigators the bag was unusually heavy, and when it was opened in the basement compactor room, the grim contents were revealed. Responding officers from the 90th Precinct and Police Service Area 3 secured the corridor and called in crime-scene specialists. “I heard people screaming, and they said it was a body chopped up in the incinerator in plastic bags,” said Vincent Valcassel, who lives nearby. The building’s maintenance access points were taped off as detectives photographed the room, collected swabs and bagged debris for testing.
Montgomery’s name and age were released Monday night after next of kin were notified. Police said she lived in Brooklyn and was a mother of four. Detectives spent part of the day re-interviewing workers and residents who were in the building late Saturday and early Sunday. One tenant, Trayvon Brown, told officers he heard loud banging in a hallway before dawn and noticed a cellphone near the trash area later that morning. Officials said they are working to determine whether Montgomery had any connection to the Williamsburg complex or if her remains were brought there. The timeline of when she was last seen alive remains under investigation.
The Borinquen Houses, a midcentury public housing complex at 330 Bushwick Ave., borders a stretch of Williamsburg where basement compactor rooms, service corridors and chute spaces see heavy traffic from staff and haulers. Those areas are not typically open to the public. Neighbors said security doors often latch but can be propped open during routine work. The building sits within the 90th Precinct, which has historically recorded lower homicide totals than some parts of Brooklyn but contends with frequent quality-of-life calls related to building interiors. Residents said weekend traffic to the trash rooms tends to peak after nightfall and again on Sunday mornings when maintenance staff make rounds.
Police said the medical examiner’s autopsy will be pivotal in clarifying when Montgomery died and whether she suffered injuries elsewhere. Detectives are obtaining subpoenas for phone and app data, canvassing private security cameras on Bushwick Avenue and nearby intersections, and checking ride-hail records for trips ending near the complex. Investigators have not publicly identified a suspect and have not recovered a weapon. No Amber or Silver alerts are tied to the case, and police said there is no indication of a wider threat to residents beyond the open investigation. Any potential charges will depend on laboratory findings and the autopsy report.
Throughout Monday, plainclothes officers moved between the management office, the basement corridor and stairwells, interviewing tenants who might have seen unfamiliar faces or large bags. A few residents waited by the courtyard fence as city vehicles idled at the curb. “Everybody is skeptical, they’re paranoid, they’re scared,” said a man who declined to give his name. Another neighbor shook his head and described seeing evidence tape across a silver service door. Parents walking children from school paused to ask officers when the basement would reopen for laundry and trash access. Overnight, additional lighting was brought to the lower level as evidence technicians wrapped their sweep.
As of Tuesday morning, police had not announced arrests or persons of interest. Detectives said they expect preliminary autopsy findings this week and will review any recovered surveillance images with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Investigators plan to return to the complex for additional canvassing and to trace Montgomery’s final known contacts. The compactor room remained closed for cleaning and evidence preservation.
Author note: Last updated February 3, 2026.