mobanmarketBABYLON, NY— Under bright blue skies Friday, the quiet Babylon Village community strived to maintain a sense of normalcy as the gruesome unthinkable unfolded outside their windows and doors —new human remains were found in a Babylon park Thursday, including an adult woman’s human head, police said.
According to Suffolk County police, the human remains found at Southards Pond Park in Babylon belong to both a woman and a adult male, including a woman’s arm, leg and head, and a man’s two arms, which had tattoos.
The adult male’s two arms were found on the eastern side of the park; the woman’s head, arm and leg were found on the western side of the park, police said.
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Just feet away from the park where police and cadaver dogs searched for hours Friday, all seemed normal — birds chirped, people walked dogs, and children were in class at Babylon Elementary School and Babylon Memorial Grade School.
Babylon School District Superintendent Carisa Manza has kept the school community informed during the hours since the unthinkable discoveries were revealed.
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Also, Manza said, “out of an abundance of caution and not to interfere with the investigation,” recess for both the elementary school and Babylon Memorial Grade School was held indoors Thursday and Friday. “As always, the safety of our students, staff and families is of paramount importance. I will keep you apprised of any new information and/or developments.”
On Friday, she released a new message: “Many of you may have already seen media coverage about the nature of the crime scene investigation taking place near our elementary and grade schools. This is an extremely unsettling incident to occur in any community, let alone so close to our schools.”
The decision was made to move elementary and grade school recesses indoors for reasons of caution and also, “to shield our young students from the growing police and media presence that was occurring. Dismissal procedures were also modified to protect our students.”
On Thursday, Manza said: “The safety and mental health of our students is our number one priority, and we know this incident may be causing some extreme anxiety among our students, particularly the high school students who were directly affected by this situation on their way to school this morning. We applaud them for their diligence in reporting their disturbing discovery to our building administration and law enforcement.”
The district’s mental health resources were ready to assist students at all grade levels, and Manza said the district encouraged any student feeling uneasy, anxious or scared in any way to please take advantage of them.
On Friday, Manza added that as the police investigation continued to develop, the Babylon faculty and staff were working collectively to ensure the safety of our students, staff and families.
“I am writing this message from the grade school, and all is going well inside the building. There was a helicopter over the building a short while ago, and Suffolk County Police detectives have requested to run K-9 units along the Babylon Memorial Grade School property with the intent to avoid school property.”
To that end, she said: “Teachers were notified by the Babylon Memorial Grade School Principal, Ms. Fretto, to discreetly close the blinds so that the police activity would not disrupt learning. Earlier in the day, each of the building principals sent out an email to the faculty and staff with directions on how to address any student conversations related to the incident and how to access mental health support if needed.”
Manza said she knew that “this is unnerving for us all. But please be assured that as I write this message, students appear happy, and learning is taking place and there is increased security at all of the buildings. As always, the safety of our students, staff and families is our top priority.”
Candice Lalima, a resident who lives near the park, said the discovery of the body parts was “very concerning. To know that this happened overnight, while we were all here sleeping.”
Lalima said she has two children, ages 4 and 6. “That’s my main concern, just having the right language to help them understand what’s happening. They’re babies. Obviously we’re not going to discuss it in depth because they are so y0ung, but they’re going to hear things, so that’s what I’m looking for, the right language. My concern is just making sure my kids feel happy and healthy and safe while the police figure all this out — and, hopefully, it’s old news somewhere in the near future.”
Lalima said she has fears regarding the discoveries. “I’m a little alarmed,” she said, adding that she was considering enhanced security for her home. “I’ve thought of it,” she said.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives said a left arm was found on the west side of the road on Siegal Boulevard, between Park Avenue and Mason Avenue, in Babylon at 8:41 a.m. on Thursday.
The arm was found by a female high school student walking to school who called her father; he then called 911, police said. During a subsequent search by police, a cadaver dog found a located a leg sticking out of a mound of leaves in a wooded area on the western side of the park near Graham Place between Beverly Road and Martin Place, police said.
The same dog continued searching the east side of the park and found a right arm, approximately 20 feet away from the original discovery of the left arm, police said.
Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide squad at 631-852-6392 or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-Tips. All calls will remain anonymous.
At around 10 a.m. Thursday, Village of Babylon officials posted on social media regarding the investigation: “To all our Babylon Village residents and guests: Please be advised that Southards Park is closed at this time by the Suffolk County Police Department. An investigation is currently going on and upon further information, details will be released. Southards Park is closed until further notice.”
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