Police seek help identifying body found in recycling bin
A 24-year-old Harris County man has been charged with tampering with evidence of a human corpse for allegedly stashing a woman’s body in his bedroom.
The woman, whose identity remains unknown, was discovered in a recycling bin at the home in the 9600 block of Wellsworth Drive, near Bissonnet and Eldridge Parkway west of the Alief area, according to court records.
A resident in the Keegan’s Wood subdivision said Harris County Sheriff ’s Office deputies apprehended his 24-year-old neighbor, Alex Jude Akpan, and put him into the back of a police vehicle around 7 p.m. Thursday.
“He came back from somewhere and one of the sheriff ’s asked him, ‘Are you Alex,’ ” said Brandon Nguyen, who lived in the neighboring duplex with Akpan. “He said, ‘Yeah,’ and they told him to put his hands up.”
A $10,000 bond was set for Akpan, who is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 8.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney John Denholm demanded a stiffer bond of $100,000, citing the belief of detectives that the woman died of foul play. The motion was rejected.
Akpan could face a murder charge, Denholm noted in court records, depending on the results of the autospy.
As of Tuesday, authorities have been unable to identify the dead woman. She was described by the Harris County Institute for Forensic Sciences as a young black woman about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 162 pounds with medium-length, black hair. She was wearing large, yellow hoop earrings in one ear, olive green pants and a black and white striped jersey emblazoned with a “NYC Classic” logo.
The shirt had what appeared to be an orange stain.
After being shown a photo of the dead woman, neighbor McArthur Hicks said he had seen her jogging and listening to music outside the home several times in the past three to four months. He last saw the woman the weekend before her body was found.
“I thought she was moving or something because I saw her and a taller black guy putting stuff into his car,” said Hicks, who identified the man as Akpan. “They were both walking out with clothes and putting them in his car.”
Hicks said he had seen her wearing the same striped jersey shown in photos from the medical examiner.
A news release from the Harris County Institute for Forensic Sciences stated the woman had a gray Hanes hoodie tied around her waist. She was not wearing shoes or socks.
The agency is asking anyone with information about the woman to contact them at 832-927-5000.