Woman's Dismembered Remains Were Found in Park — and Suspects Allegedly Killed Her in Insurance Scam
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Two arrests have been made in the grisly death of a woman whose head, torso and limbs were found in a Brooklyn park in 2018 in one of New York City's most notorious unsolved murders.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York allege that Cory Martin, 33, conspired with Adelle Anderson, 32, to kill and dismember Brandy Odom, 26, and then fraudulently collect on $200,000 worth of life insurance policies they’d set up in her name, the Affidavit and Complaint in Support of Application for Arrest Warrants states.
On Wednesday, FBI agents arrested Martin and Anderson in Trenton, New Jersey. They are charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection to Odom’s death, federal authorities said.
They face up to 22 years in prison if convicted.
From March 2017 through August 2018, the pair plotted to collect money from fraudulent life insurance policies started in Odom’s name after her death, paying the premiums, the affidavit and complaint states.
Odom lived with the couple, it says.
Martin allegedly killed Odom by strangling her and then cutting her body up with a saw before scattering her remains in a Canarsie park, prosecutors allege in the document.
Odom died of homicidal asphyxia. After her death, her arms were severed at the elbows, the document states. Both legs were severed at the hips.
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A woman walking her dog in a Canarsie Park on April 9, 2018, came upon Odom's torso.
“As I went in the path and looked to the left, I saw something resembling a garbage bag,” Smith said. “But as I went by and looked back and looked again, I realized it was a body that was dismembered and then I just took off running.”
When Anderson allegedly tried to claim benefits after Odom’s death, she told one of the insurance companies representatives that Odom had died by suicide, the document states.
One representative told Anderson she would need to provide a certified death certificate, a physician’s statement, and a coroner’s report to process the claim.
Another insurance company representative told Anderson she needed the name of the funeral home used for Odom’s funeral.
Anderson, who told this representative Odom had died of homicide, said “I, um, didn’t have anything to do with the funeral for her. I am not sure.”
In December 2017, Martin and Anderson allegedly exchanged text messages about the life insurance policies, the document shows.
“Insurance place closed today,” Anderson allegedly texted Martin. “And that policy is no longer gone be active if j don’t try n do something with that bitch this week.”
During an interview with investigators on Oct. 29, 2020, Anderson allegedly said she saw Martin choke Odom to death and then dismember her body, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Tanya Hajjar, wrote in a Nov. 4, 2020, letter to the U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court in Brooklyn about remanding Martin and seeking substantial bail for Anderson.
“The murder of Brandy Odom and the subsequent dismemberment and disposal of her body reflects Martin’s utter disregard for human life," Hajjar wrote. "The crime was premeditated, gruesome, and motivated by greed.”
Martin is being held without bail.
Anderson was released on a $200,000 bond with restrictions.
Attorneys for Martin and Anderson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
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Odom, who was from New York City, had worked as a security guard and wanted to become a city school safety agent, her mother told The New York Times.
“Everybody loved her,” Nicole told WABC in April 2018. “I can’t even see how one person would want to do this to her. Brandy was friendly with everybody.”
