Woman’s Dismembered Body Is Found in a Brooklyn Basement, Officials Say

The police are investigating the death of Michelle Montgomery, whose remains were found in a public housing building in the Williamsburg neighborhood.

The police are investigating the death of a Brooklyn woman whose remains were found in the basement of a public housing building over the weekend, officials said on Monday.

Officers answering a 911 call about an unconscious person at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday found the remains of the woman, whom the police identified as Michelle Montgomery, 39.

Ms. Montgomery’s body had been dismembered, and her remains were in a plastic bag in a trash compactor, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The New York City medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death. A spokeswoman for the office said on Monday that an autopsy examination had been conducted, but that the medical examiner needed to review the results of additional testing and investigative information from the police before making a final determination.

No arrests had been made in the case as of Monday, the police said.

The building where Ms. Montgomery was found is part of the Borinquen Plaza complex in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. She lived in a different public housing development, the Gowanus Houses, about four miles away.

Anthony Echevarria, who identified himself as Ms. Montgomery’s husband and the father of their four children, ages 10 months, 11, 12 and 19, appeared overwhelmed Monday afternoon as he stood in the doorway of their apartment.

“She was a loving mother of four,” said Mr. Echevarria, who described last seeing her Saturday evening as she was leaving the apartment to go out with friends. The authorities have not provided him with details about the circumstances of his wife’s death, he added.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” he said, rubbing his temples and looking down as he leaned on the door. “Everything is spinning around at 100 miles an hour.”

Reached by phone, Serenity Montgomery, Ms. Montgomery’s younger sister, sounded similarly bewildered.

“My sister was a loving, happy person,” she said. “I don’t know what would make someone do this to her.”

Ms. Montgomery said she and her sister would often go out together on the weekends, and typically checked in with each other about their plans beforehand. Her sister did not check in this past weekend about going out, which was unusual, she said.

Serenity Montgomery said she had received a FaceTime call from her sister at about 10 p.m. Saturday. She heard music in the background before the call cut off after about a second, she said, and she was uncertain whether Michelle had meant to call. The police returned her sister’s phone to Mr. Echevarria, Ms. Montgomery said.

“We’re just trying to get to the bottom of this,” she said. “I’ve got so many questions.”

Shortly after 6 p.m. Monday, two uniformed police officers stood watch inside the lobby of the apartment building where Ms. Montgomery’s body was found.

Outside, as the temperature dropped, five people arrived by car to pay their respects and construct a small memorial. They taped a photograph of a smiling Ms. Montgomery to the building’s concrete wall, above a cardboard box that held candles and a red rose.

One of the five, Deslany Jackson, a family friend, wrote one of the first messages on the white-and-gold-bordered paper frame around the photo.

“I’m so sorry, Beautiful!” the message said. “This was not how the year was supposed to start! You did NOT deserve this! Sleep Beautifully!!”

As the group exchanged hugs, spoke among themselves and made a video call to Ms. Montgomery’s sister, they also accepted condolences from passers-by.

Ms. Jackson, 28, described Ms. Montgomery as a funny, sociable and happy person.

“She always had good energy,” Ms. Jackson said.

Ms. Jackson said that several people who knew Ms. Montgomery and had heard that a body had been discovered at the Borinquen Plaza building were staggered to later learn the identity of the dead woman.

“Nobody was expecting it to be our family,” she said.

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