A Brooklyn man on Wednesday was sentenced to life without parole for murdering and dismembering an acquaintance whose remains were discovered inside a refrigerator in his Flatbush apartment.
Nicholas McGee, 48, was convicted of first-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse on Oct. 9, 2025, following a jury trial, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
In March 2022, McGee stabbed Kawsheen Gelzer, 39, in the back as he slept on a sofa inside his Nostrand Avenue apartment, prosecutors said. Medical testimony established the defendant also inflicted more than 60 sharp force injuries to the victim’s head, torso and extremities and struck the victim multiple times in the head with a hammer during the attack.
Following the murder, the defendant rummaged through the victim’s pockets, took the drugs the victim had on him and used them with his co-defendant and wife, Heather Stines, 48. The defendant then dragged the victim’s body to the bathroom, where it remained in the bathtub for several days before the defendant used a saw and hammer to dismember the body, placing the remains in separate plastic bags. He then hid the victim’s head, torso, arms and legs inside a refrigerator and freezer located in the apartment and sealed the refrigerator and freezer shut with tape and glue, according to Gonzalez.
The victim’s body was discovered on Jan. 20, 2024, after an anonymous tip led police to the defendant’s apartment, where they discovered the remains. While in custody in Virginia on an unrelated matter, the defendant was interviewed by NYPD detectives and, after negotiating with the detectives for a cigarette, gave a detailed confession to the murder and dismemberment, the DA said.
“This was a deeply disturbing act of violence by a defendant who not only stole a man’s life, but then desecrated his body," Gonzalez said in a statement. "The cruelty and disregard for human life shown in the case are almost beyond comprehension."
Stines pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2024, to concealment of a human corpse and third-degree bail jumping. She will be sentenced at a later date.
