Police theorize headless man found along NYC's Jamaica Bay may have hanged himself from nearby bridge

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LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: A man's headless body was retrieved from the waters close to Jamaica Bay on Friday, April 12. Police speculate he may have died by suicide.

Officials noted on Saturday that this was the fourth time a body was found in the area since November 2023. 

Councilwoman Joann Ariola believes the discovery of four bodies in a relatively short amount of time is quite unusual

Just before 9 pm on Friday, authorities discovered the body of the unidentified man close to 165th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard. They reportedly found a rope hanging from the Joseph P Addabbo Memorial Bridge approximately 1,000 feet away, according to the New York Post.

Although how the individual died was not immediately apparent, police stated that the "theory is that he hanged himself" and that his body fell into the water. The manner and cause of his death will be ascertained by the medical examiner's office.

As a representative of a large portion of The Rockaways, Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) stated, "This is an unusual amount of bodies in a relatively short amount of time. I can’t remember any other time when we saw four bodies washing up in a five-month period — especially outside the summer season."

She noted, "This is extremely disconcerting, and I am sure the NYPD is conducting a full investigation to determine if there is any kind of pattern here."

Employee o fa neighborhood restaurant shares his thoughts regarding the grim discovery

James R, a 35-year-old employee of the neighborhood restaurant Vetro, stated that numerous emergency vehicles, including police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks, were dispatched when the remains were discovered.

"I’ve been working here for like 13 years, and I can tell it’s summertime when things like this happen, not bodies, but water rescues and kayaks tipped over," remarked James. 

He added, "Every single time somebody falls in the water or there’s a water rescue, a helicopter comes out. There was no helicopter yesterday, so my thing was, it’s not somebody drowning. If there’s no helicopter, it’s something else."