By Howard Koplowitz
A dead man was found stuffed in a garbage bag inside the trunk of an SUV Monday near Forest Park, police and the city medical examiner's office said.
Officers were alerted to an abandoned Lexus SUV illegally parked on Park Lane South near 109th Street around 10:23 a.m. Monday, where they saw a human foot sticking out of a black garbage bag inside the trunk of the car, police said.
A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said an autopsy performed on the man, whom she identified as Yuriy Grinchuk, was inconclusive pending further testing. It was unclear where Grinchuk lived.
One witness said the body was laid out near the scene. “It was all chopped up,” said Richmond Hill resident Bill Hart.
He said the SUV had been parked at the location for days. The block has alternate-side-of-the-street parking and signs prohibit parking on the side where the SUV was parked on Monday mornings.
Hart said police had trouble opening up a door to the Lexus until Emergency Services Unit vehicles arrived. Duct tape was then placed around the passenger side door, which was smashed, Hart said.
A Richmond Hill resident who said she jogs in Forest Park said she was frightened by the grisly discovery.
“It used to be a safe place, but I'm not coming here anymore,” said Solanghely Raffo, 16.
Jeremy Harrynarine, a 17-year-old Richmond Hill resident, said the park should have better security.
“They need to have those NYPD cameras around here,” Harrynarine said. “They need more police out here, too.”
In March, a suitcase filled with bones was found in the park, which were identified as the remains of Reyna Isabel De Los Santos, a Woodhaven woman who was reported missing June 19 after getting into a dispute with her husband.
Her husband, Edwin Fuentes, has not been charged in her murder, but he was arraigned March 14 for allegedly abusing De Los Santos' 18-year-old autistic son.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
