Missing Woman Found Dead In Storage Container After Being Murdered By Cousin

A missing 35-year-old Manhattan woman was found dead inside of a storage container in the Bronx after being murdered by her cousin on Friday, Feb. 25.

Khalid Barrow, 21, of the Bronx, has been charged with murder in connection to the death of 35-year-old Nisaa Walcott, of East Harlem, after her body was found in a plastic container that was left across the street from a storage unit at 950 University Ave. in the Highbridge section on Friday afternoon, Feb. 25. The woman, who is reportedly a cousin of the accused, was reported missing earlier this week, CBS News reported.

In addition to the murder charges, Barrow has also been charged with concealing a human corpse. The NYPD detectives questioned Barrow at the 23rd precinct in Harlem on Saturday, Feb. 26, after police officers obtained a video of Walcott and Barrow going into her apartment building on Friday, Feb. 25. However, in the CCTV footage, only Barrow was seen leaving the apartment. The video also showed Barrow removing a plastic container at Walcott's building early Friday.

Walcott's brothers reported the young woman missing after repeated attempts to call her were returned with suspicious text messages, New York Post reported.

"The language that was being used was like, wait a minute, that's not my sister," Eugene Butler, Walcott's brother, said.

Officers believe that Barrow texted Walcott’s family members from her phone to misguide them. However, the family grew increasingly suspicious as the messages included a text saying that Walcott was going on a business trip and that Barrow would watch her 14-year-old son until she comes back.

Walcott’s cause of death was not immediately clear. The officers are awaiting the autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Meanwhile, Walcott's family and friends shared that her main priority in life was her 14-year-old son who is now with his father after her untimely death.

"They were close,” Christopher Sanchez, a neighbor, said. “When it came to her son, that was her top priority. That’s a sad thing,” he said.

Another neighbor and friend called Walcott a “beautiful woman.”

He said Walcott let her cousin stay with her.

“How do you do that to your cousin? She gave you shelter, she gave you a place to live. She actually extended her hand and this is how you repay her?” he said.