Suspects Arrested in Horrific Human Remains in Shopping Cart Case Linked to NYC Homicide

Last month first responders from Westchester County were altered to an active incident near the Oak Street Bridge, the located between the jurisdictional borders of Yonkers and the city Mount Vernon. Original the incident was reported as a fire and firefighters from Mount Vernon Fire Department arrived on the scene to handle the issue.

Firefighters on scene discovered a type of shopping cart which had been set on fire and also clearly contained something but what that something was could not be determined at the time. When firefighters extinguished the fire, they were able to further investigate the contents of the cart and very quickly it was clear that law enforcement would be needed.

Previous Coverage: Shopping Cart Set on Fire in Yonkers Contained Human Remains Linked to NYC Homicide

Human Remains Discovered in Yonkers

What firefighters discovered was human remains inside the shopping cart. Detectives from the Major Case Squad and Crime Scene Unit of the Yonkers Police Department arrived on the scene, gathered evidence, and canvassed the area but the determination was made that this location was merely a dump site for the remains.

With that information the Yonkers PD turned the investigation over to the New York City Police Department and the Bronx District Attorney's Office. It did not take long for the new investigators to track a lead and that lead would bring them to an apartment located in the Longwood neighbor, part of the Bronx.

With a search warrant in hand, law enforcement accessed the apartment and discovered a crime scene that you'd only expect to see in movies or television. In the apartment investigators discovered more remains in the apartment freezer and a "bleach filled crock pot with human hands".

Victim Identified and Search for Suspects

Law enforcement continued its investigation in the weeks following the gruesome discovery yet no suspects had been arrested. What we did learn though was that investigators were able to operate as quickly as they did thanks to security camera footage they had obtained.

The footage obtained by NBC 4 New York revealed two unidentified individuals leaving the Bronx apartment with what appeared to be the same shopping cart, boarding the Metro-North Train and then eventually stopping off the Yonkers location.

Previous Coverage: New Update in Unbelievably Gruesome Yonkers Dismembered Body Case

In addition to the suspects, law enforcement was also able to confirm the identity of the victim. That victim was identified as 46-year old Lutalo Henderson of the Bronx. They had also confirmed that it was Henderson's head and torso located in the shopping cart and his legs were in the apartment freezer.

Suspects Identified, Arrested and Charged

That brings to now where earlier this week the Bronx District Attorney's Office issued a press release stating that two suspects had been arrested in the investigation as well as more gruesome details.

The suspects were identified as 40-year old Muhammad Aadil and 18-year old Ronei Harris. According to the press release Aadil and Harris allegedly murdered Henderson following an argument between Aadil and Henderson in the apartment they shared. The release goes on to state that the killing and dismemberment took place between July 27, 2024 and August 5, 2024.

The press release also gives more graphic detail into exactly how Aadil and Harris attempted to dispose of Henderson's body...

The defendants cut off his legs below the knees, his hands and removed his jaw. They wrapped the torso in trash bags and took it in a shopping cart to Yonkers via the Metro North train. They set the cart on fire under the Oak Street Bridge.

The removal of the hands and jaw are particularly alarming because it is through the usage of fingerprints and or teeth and dental records that law enforcement can identify victims in crimes of this nature.

Aadil was arraigned in before the Bronx Supreme Court on September 23, 2024 where hewas officially charged with the crimes of second-degree Murder, first-degree Manslaughter, Concealment of a Human Corpse, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, five counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and fourth degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.

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The 18-year old Harris is scheduled to be arraigned at a later date, while Aadil was remanded and scheduled to be back in court on December 19, 2024.

The release concluded with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark thanking NYPD Detective Kevin Mockel of the Bronx Homicide Squad, NYPD Detective Jessica Gonzalez and NYPD Officer Mark Dutan of the 41 Precinct, and Detective Michael DeRosa of the Yonkers Police Department for their work on the case.