STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A woman found dead inside a large bin in the driveway of a Staten Island, New York, home has been identified, and an arrest has been made in connection with the gruesome discovery.
According to police, the victim has been identified as Lahuma Payton, 26, of Mariners Harbor, SILive.com reported.
Payton’s body was found just before 6 a.m. Friday in the island’s Port Richmond section, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, WABC-TV reported.
An official ruling on Payton’s cause of death is pending toxicology and other tests, but investigators told the TV station that it appeared she was dumped in the bin after an apparent drug overdose.
A man living in the house told WABC that he heard banging sounds at around 5 a.m. after what he described as an all-night party at a nearby apartment.
Meanwhile, 56-year-old Glen Brancato, whom police confirmed lives at the Heberton Avenue address where Payton’s body was found, has been charged with concealment of a human corpse and criminal tampering in connection with her death, according to a statement issued by the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner of public information and public records.
Brancato, an acquaintance of the victim, was at the home when police arrived on Friday, SILive.com reported, noting that he was arrested at about 5:40 p.m. Saturday. A second individual is also being sought by police in connection with Payton’s death, the news site reported.
According to police, Payton was dressed only from the waist down, and her body spilled out from the plastic bin, SILive.com reported.
The medical examiner will determine Payton’s cause of death, WABC reported.
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