Police say slain woman received text from a suspect
Warrant indicates timeline of alleged events
An arrest warrant in the death of a Greenwich native has revealed new insight into the events leading to her discovery and the moments before she was last seen, including the text messages police say she received from the man charged with disposing her remains.
Police said the remains of Nicole Flanagan, 42, were found Aug. 13 in a plastic drum in a residential neighborhood in Ridgefield Park N.J., a small Bergen County town near the George Washington Bridge.
The discovery came a week after the mother of three was last seen alive entering an upscale apartment building in Manhattan’s Financial District, according to an arrest warrant in the case.
One person — Aquellio Parker, 29, of Queens, N.Y. — has been charged in the case, accused of helping to move Flanagan’s remains from the New York apartment to New Jersey, according to his arrest warrant.
A second “individual” is mentioned in the warrant, but authorities have not responded to questions about who the person is and whether they face charges.
Parker’s arrest warrant establishes a rough timeline police have established from Flanagan last being seen on Aug. 6 to when her remains were discovered on Aug. 13.
Aug. 6
1:46 a.m. — Flanagan’s account with a ride-sharing service shows she was dropped off outside 95 Wall St. in the Financial District of Manhattan, according to an arrest warrant for Parker. As she arrives, video surveillance captures Flanagan being met by a man, later identified by police as Parker, the warrant said.
Minutes before her arrival, Flanagan’s cellphone received two text messages from a number “utilized by Parker,” the warrant said.
“95 wallstreet,” one message text message read, according to the warrant. “Lmn (let me know) when your (sic) approaching so I can grab you from the lobby babe,” another message reads, according to the warrant.
Video surveillance captures the two walk into an elevator and ride it to the floor with an apartment “utilized by Parker,” according to the warrant. They are then seen exiting the elevator and heading into the apartment, the warrant stated.
The address is the last known location where Flanagan was alive, according to police.
Aug. 11
11:33 a.m. — Ride-share records for Parker obtained by police show him returning to 95 Wall St., the warrant said. The warrant does not indicate when Parker left the building after entering the apartment with Flanagan on Aug. 6.
Moments later, video surveillance captures him again, this time “in possession of a large drum,” the warrant said.
Aug. 12
9:27 p.m. — Parker “and another individual” are captured on surveillance video arriving at the apartment building in a white commercial van, the warrant read.
9:43 p.m. — The two are seen on surveillance footage taking a luggage cart from the building’s lobby to the freight elevator before they exit minutes later with a drum, according to the warrant.
10:34 p.m. — A white commercial van matching the description of the one captured on video at the Wall Street apartment is logged heading over the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, the warrant read.
10:45 p.m. — Investigators wrote in the warrant that surveillance footage shows the white van stopped for several minutes in the immediate area where Flanagan’s body was found at Teaneck Road and Hobart Street in Ridgefield Park, N.J.
Minutes earlier, video surveillance showed the same van traveling north on Teaneck Road before circling the area, the warrant said.
11:24 p.m. — The warrant said law enforcement databases show the white commercial van back in New York traveling across the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, which spans between the Bronx and Manhattan.
Aug. 13
10:38 a.m. — The Ridgefield Park Police Department respond to Teaneck Road and Hobart Street for a report of a “suspicious” 55-gallon drum. When officers arrive, they found Flanagan’s nude body in a garbage bag inside the drum, according to investigators.
Phone records point investigators to lower Manhattan as Flanagan’s last known location, according to the warrant. Her phone is eventually recovered — the warrant does not say where — leading police to 95 Wall St., the warrant said.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office release a brief statement, saying human remains were found in a “large plastic container” left in the street. The statement did not identify Flanagan as the victim at the time.
Aug. 19
New Jersey authorities obtain a warrant for Parker’s arrest, charging him with being an accomplice to disturbing, moving and/ or concealing human remains; being an accomplice to desecrating, damaging and/or destroying human remains; and conspiring with a co-defendant to disturb, move, conceal and/or desecrate a deceased body.
Aug. 20
In a brief statement, the Bergen County Prosecutor's office identifies the remains found in Ridgefield Park as Flanagan. No cause of death is given. Police have said further testing is needed by the Bergen County medical examiner to determine the cause of death.
Aug. 22
Parker turns himself in to the New York Police Department. He is held pending extradition to New Jersey, according to police.
Aug. 24
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office announces the charges against Parker and his arrest in a statement.