Woman's Body Wrapped in Plastic, Hidden Under Hotel Bed

Yesterday, a housekeeper found a female body wrapped in garbage bags and stuffed under a bed in Room 608 of the Hotel Carter. The woman, described as a white woman in her 20s, was not carrying any identification and the ME's office is conducting an autopsy to determine her cause of death; WABC 7 says that the woman suffered a blunt trauma to the head, but it's unclear if it's the cause of death.

The Post reports that the "police tentatively identified the woman as a 22-year-old tourist from Washington, D.C." and that the housekeeper realized there was a body when she "patted" the bags and felt a foot. The Daily News says that the victim "was never a customer" at the hotel, according to an employee.

The News had details about the room's previous occupant:

The employee said a man who identified himself as Clarence Dean of Alabama checked out of the room at 12:56p.m. Wednesday after a prolonged stay.

Dean, described as a chubby white man in his 30s, checked into the hotel on Aug.17 and was scheduled to leave on Aug.19. But instead of leaving, he paid per diem with cash at a $116-per-night rate.

On Tuesday night, hotel workers noticed strange activity in the hotel room - judging from Dean's electronic key card, which showed he entered and exited the room every few minutes over a period of time.A wallet believed to be the victim's was also found in the room, the worker said.

The hotel, located across from the former NY Times building, is popular with tourists. Many guests have been trying to get refunds and find other hotel accommodations. One Australian tourist told the Post, "There was a girl screaming in the corridor saying that she wanted a refund, that she didn't want to stay here anymore because someone was murdered." A tourist from Toronto told the News, " Could we be next? I'd sleep in Central Park before I sleep here."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on August 31, 2007 4:07 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

Never mind - just found it on youtube, and the rate back in the 80s was $43 per person...

guest

Whatever happened to that tv commercial with Milford Plaza - loved the jingle...

guest

#6 Well, yes. The Milford Plaza is about 2-1/2 x as expensive as the Carter Hotel.

guest

Well at least there wasn't a electrical power failure. I remember the power outage a few summers ago when tourists were barred from their rooms and given sheets to sleep on the street.

I have to live here, but if I wasn't a resident I would never stay in NYC as a tourist. Too nasty and expensive.

guest

I may be wrong but in the eighties this was a SRO and you have lots of sketchy people staying there. seems like old times.

there used to be another SRO on 34th street off seventh ave.

Was the Milford Plaza too costly?

cwbuecheler

Wait, why does someone getting murdered in your hotel entitle you to a refund?

I can understand wanting to leave, I guess ... but it's not like it's the hotels fault someone got murdered there. People pick each other up and go back to each other's hotel rooms all the time, regardless of the price of the hotel or whatever. It's not like the proprietors can install an armed guard in each room.

guest

I live close to the Carter, very nasty, grimy hotel. It was about due for a murder.

LinkMan

Only 6 hotels out of 307 ranked hotels in NYC (and that includes some in NJ) are ranked worse on Tripadvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d93421-Reviews-Hotel_Carter-New_York_City_New_York.html