Human remains found in backyard related to 40-year-old case

QUEENS, New York -- Police recovered human remains Tuesday that are believed to be related to a 40-year-old cold case.

The dig happened at a home in New York.

Authorities received a tip on Monday related to a case dating back to the 1970s, saying they discovered human skeletal remains of an unidentified person buried at the location.

The tip reportedly came from a woman who lived in the home decades ago who reported that when she was 11 years old, she woke up in the middle of the night and saw her mother's boyfriend dismembering a body, putting it into bags and burying it in the backyard.

She apparently had not spoken up about the incident until now. She and her mother no longer live at the location.

The corpse was carried carefully from the crime scene Tuesday night.

Half the block was roped off, with ESU and Crime Scene divisions, as well as investigators with the OCME Division of Forensic Anthropology.

Investigators declined to discuss the case, and police refused to say whether they are actively seeking a suspect or whether there is a suspect at all.

Crime scene investigators removed several bags of evidence, although it was not clear how that evidence might be connected to a crime committed so long ago.

The residents of the home could not be reached for comment because a portion of the street remained sealed off Wednesday.

The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the victim's identity.

The investigation is ongoing.