Body Outside NYPD Building Went Undiscovered for Week

It's too bad the NYPD doesn't have quotas for finding missing persons, because maybe then somebody would have noticed the dead pregnant woman decomposing in a car right outside a Bronx police station for over a week. Instead, it fell to a Mount Vernon detective, who was meeting with the NYPD about an unrelated investigation, to spot her corpse, which was in a white SUV less than 100 feet from the building. Detective Sgt. Robert Scott of the Mount Vernon police tells the Times, "As he was in his car, he observed the vehicle. He recognized the vehicle and its license plate, so it was very sharp detective work."

"We put the information out, I can’t speculate on why they hadn’t seen it at that police station," says Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Carl Bell. To be fair, the vehicle was parked with its windshield facing away from the building, which is used by NYPD investigators but is not open to the public. The woman, Gizela Andrade, 32, was found dead with her seat reclined, and the SUV had tinted windows. But still... the temptation to go with "Cops Can't Find Corpse Under Their Noses" is just too great.

Andrade, who worked as a nanny and had type 1 diabetes, was found wearing the same clothes she had on when she disappeared on September 25th after a "verbal dispute" with her boyfriend. Sergeant Scott tells the Times, "He went into another room, and when he came out, she was gone." Preliminary results of an autopsy suggested the cause of death was an insulin overdose. Investigators don't suspect foul play, and 1010 Wins reports that Andrade left a note for her aunt asking her to take care of her cat.

"This is not a secluded spot," a source tells the Post. "It's right in front of the building. There are 300 cops in this building. It's a big embarrassment. They should have seen it. They should have smelled it." Andrade's family was outraged upon learning that her body was found so close to the busy police station. "How did they not see it if it was there the whole time?" family friend Flavia Ferreira asks the Daily News. "We want to know the truth. It's just unbelievable they couldn't see the car if it was there 11 days. It's just unacceptable."

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

By John Del Signore in News on October 7, 2010 11:11 AM

Comments [rss]

Neverhaditsogood

Just another reason why that Marboro man TV show is for out of towners only.

rob120nyc

Its a shame that the Gothamist used this woman's death as way to send a digg to the NYPD. I find this type of reporting cruel and unwarranted. In this type of situation the mere facts would have been sufficient. Their was no need to use this tragic incident as a way to voice your personal views on the NYPD.

FelixtheCat Christine Quinns

If is her fault, if she wanted NYPD to find her then she should have park in front of Donkin Donuts.

John L

Can the NYPD get anything right?

WTF!

robingee

Well, they're not called New York's Most Observant.

jaycjay

"a Mount Vernon detective, who was meeting with NYPD investigators about the missing woman,"

Actually, all three of the linked new articles say that the meeting was about an unrelated case.

On another note, the Post says: "Family and friends had canvassed the area for days, handing out posters with pictures of Andrade and the vehicle she was last seen driving."

Why didn't they find her?

John L

You further prove the point,

"Family and friends had canvassed the area for days, handing out posters with pictures of Andrade and the vehicle she was last seen driving."

So even with fliers describing this girl's car they didn't notice it for 11 days parked 100 feet from the precinct? And you're okay with that?

I'm sorry your expectations of law enforcements is so low but I expect them to find dead bodies sitting in a car 100 feet from the precinct before 11 days.

So if the Mount Vernon detective didn't find her, when do you think we could have reasonably expected the NYPD to find her? A month, 3 months, a year?

jaycjay

I made no mention of any expectations of law enforcement, and expressed no opinion at all on their performance. I pointed out some facts, and posed a question.

Those who have agendas behind almost everything they say tend to assume that others do as well, though, so I'm not surprised that you're reading something into my comment that actually isn't there.

jaycjay

And here's another question: did they even have a reason to be looking for her? Had she been reported missing? I don't see anything in the linked articles that indicates that she had been. If she was, was it reported to NYPD, or only in Mount Vernon?

John L

Didn't YOU write this?

"On another note, the Post says: "Family and friends had canvassed the area for days, handing out posters with pictures of Andrade and the vehicle she was last seen driving."

jaycjay

Uh, yes, I did obviously. And then I wondered, why didn't they find her?

That seems like a reasonable question to me. A bunch of people were canvassing the area specifically looking for her. Why didn't they find her?

That you somehow see an agenda in that only makes my point.

rosweed

If those cops had the new subway scooters they could have made the arduous journey to the white SUV in just a couple of days.

Hischick08

She reminds me of J-Woww

Brainwash

Must have had an nypd supporter bumper sticker or something.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

They didn't want to deal with all the paper work.

Stevennnn

Someone had to notice it, but they were waiting for someone else to call it in.

theboneranger

sharp detective work!

Guest

The car was parked there for 11 days in a police supervisor's spot and they didn't notice it? My friend parks on the wrong side of the street for 3 minutes and she gets a ticket. WTF?