83-Year-Old Convicted Killer Arrested After Severed Head Found In Her Home

An 83-year-old transgender woman who has been convicted twice for killing her ex-girlfriends was arrested in connection with the murder of a third woman.

The New York City Police Department began investigating the case last week after a human torso was discovered stuffed in a trash bag in a shopping cart in Brooklyn. Then, on Monday (March 7), a human leg was found hidden inside a parked car about two miles away. They believed that the torso and leg belonged to 68-year-old Susan Layden.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the area, which showed Harvey Marcelin dumping what appeared to be human remains near her apartment. When detectives went to her home, they found a severed head and took her into custody.

She was charged with concealing a human corpse and is being held without bail at Rikers Island. Officials said that the investigation is ongoing and that she could face additional charges in the coming days.

Marcelin has spent 50 years in jail after being convicted in the killings of two women. In 1963, she was convicted of fatally shooting her girlfriend, Jacqueline Bonds. She was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and was released on parole in May 1984. Less than a year later, Marcelin was back in jail, accused of stabbing another woman she was dating and stuffing her remains in a bag that she dumped near central park.

Marcelin was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sent back to prison, where she remained until 2019.