(Trinidad Express) A Trinidadian man has been charged with murdering 34-year-old Salisha Ali, a mother of three who had travelled to the United States in search of a better life.
Detectives believe the 75-year-old man dismembered Ali’s body and scattered it in bushy areas sometime last year.
Her torso was discovered in a marshy area of Idlewild Park, not far from JFK Airport, in September.
On March 5, sanitation workers found her head inside the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Following an extensive search, other body parts were also recovered, police said.
Ali was identified by her tattoos, three names, and a flower design. DNA testing on the torso confirmed her identity.
The elderly man, who had been a suspect, was detained on Wednesday and charged with murder, obstructing governmental administration, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Ali had been reported missing by her relatives in Trinidad after she stopped answering their calls. She was last seen during a video call with relatives in July.
A relative told the Express that despite numerous attempts to reach Ali, none were successful.
“The last time we heard from her was on July 13. At first, we just thought she was busy, but after two days, it was unusual, because she uses her phone for everything and she would have taken the call,” she said in an interview in November.
The relative added that she contacted the Trinidad and Tobago consular office in New York and filed a missing persons report.
The Express was told that Ali had met the 75-year-old man in Trinidad and had travelled to the US to be with him.