A former Rosedale man has been charged with murdering a housemate and then scattering her body parts in a Brooklyn Park in an alleged life insurance scheme in 2018, federal prosecutors said.
A superseding indictment was filed Wednesday, Oct. 27, in Brooklyn federal court charging Cory Martin with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Martin was previously charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of identification relating to an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain life insurance policies in the name of Brandy Odom, a 26-year-old Rosedale woman, murder her and then claim benefits under the life insurance policies.
“The defendant allegedly brutally murdered a young woman, dismembered her body and scattered her body parts in a Brooklyn park in order to profit from life insurance policies that he fraudulently obtained in her name,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “He will now be held to account for his alleged heinous acts. We hope that today’s charges bring some measure of solace to the victim’s family.”
As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, in March 2017, a year prior to Odom’s murder, Martin and a co-conspirator fraudulently obtained two life insurance policies in the victim’s name. They arranged for premium payments to the life insurance companies to be made by Western Union money order and by using a debit card in Odom’s name.
In April 2018, Martin allegedly strangled Odom, and, over the course of several days, dismembered her corpse. On April 6, 2018, Martin had searched Home Depot’s website for an online listing for a “Dewalt 12-Amp Corded Reciprocating Saw,” described as featuring a “powerful 12 Amp motor designed for heavy-duty applications.”
Later that evening, Martin allegedly searched YouTube using the search terms “how to insert blade for reciprocating saw” and “using reciprocating saw,” which he subsequently deleted from his cellphone.
In the early morning of April 8 and April 9, 2018, Martin disposed of Odom’s body parts in Canarsie Park with the assistance of his co-conspirator. On April 10, 2018, Martin conducted dozens of Internet searches for news articles, including “Search area expands after dismembered body found in Canarsie Park in Brooklyn.”
According to prosecutors, Martin also accessed a Twitter post titled “Person walking dog discovers remains of woman in Brooklyn park.” The following day, Martin searched YouTube using the search term “exclusive interview with mother of girl found in park.” After Odom’s murder, at Martin’s direction, several unsuccessful attempts to claim benefits under Odom’s life insurance policies were made by his co-conspirator.
When the NYPD discovered Odom’s body parts in Canarsie Park, they found that she had been “posthumously dismembered,” with her arms severed at the elbow and both legs cut at the hips. An autopsy revealed that Odom had died of “homicidal asphyxia.”
Federal agents arrested Martin and his alleged co-conspirator Adelle Anderson, who also lived in the Rosedale home, in New Jersey where they lived in Nov. 2020.
“With dogged tenacity and meticulous investigative work, our NYPD detectives and law enforcement partners never wavered in their mission to seek justice for this crime victim,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said. “Now, more than three years after the malicious fraud and brutal killing alleged in today’s indictment, New Yorkers can find our collective answer in these court papers from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.”
Martin is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court next week. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.
“It’s unthinkable that a person could view another human being as a get rich quick scheme. We allege Mr. Martin murdered, then dismembered a young woman so he could cash in on fraudulent life insurance policies,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said. “Ms. Odom didn’t deserve the sheer indignity of dying that way; no one does. Mr. Martin facing justice won’t bring Ms. Odom back, but it will keep him from plotting another despicable attempt at profiteering off someone’s life.”
If convicted, Martin faces a mandatory penalty of life imprisonment, or possibly the death penalty, according to the feds.
