FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Brutal Murder and Dismemberment of 39-Year-Old Man in Flatbush
Defendant Fatally Stabbed and Slashed Victim More Than 60 Times, Beat Him with Hammer
and Stored His Remains in Refrigerator for Nearly Two Years
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Flatbush man has been sentenced to life without parole for the murder and dismemberment of an acquaintance whose remains were discovered inside a refrigerator in the defendant’s apartment.
District Attorney Gonzalez 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. The cruelty and disregard for human life shown in the case are almost beyond comprehension. Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his horrific crimes and serves as a reminder that those who commit such heinous crimes in Brooklyn will face the most serious consequences under the law.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Nicholas McGee, 48, of Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht to a prison term of life without parole. The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse on October 9, 2025, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, in March of 2022, inside the defendant’s apartment on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush, the defendant stabbed Kawsheen Gelzer, 39, in the back as he slept on a sofa. 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. 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.
The victim’s body was discovered on January 20, 2024, after an anonymous Crime Stoppers 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 defendant’s co-defendant and wife, Heather Stines, 48, pleaded guilty on October 24, 2024, to concealment of a human corpse and third-degree bail jumping. She will be sentenced at a later date.
The District Attorney thanked Homicide Paralegal Meghan Brancato and Green Zone Paralegal Aneudy Mata for their work on this case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cassandra Pond, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Adam Ghalmi, also of the Green Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Chief of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau.
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