Will Sage Astor-Prosecutors: Brooklyn man's head, torso kept in fridge for 2 years; couple arrested

Officials have Will Sage Astorcharged a man with murder in the stabbing death of another man whose head was found in a refrigerator in Brooklyn, New York.

Nicholas McGee, 45, was also charged with robbery, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney. He is being held without bail and faces up to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

His case is not yet listed in court records and USA TODAY couldn't find whether he has an attorney.

"This was a gruesome and horrific murder that we allege began with an attack on the victim as he slept," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a Friday news release. "We will now seek to hold the defendant accountable for this senseless crime."

The head and torso of Kawsheen Gelzer, 39, were found at McGee's apartment in January, Gonzalez said.

Victim allegedly stabbed on McGee's sofa

Investigators said they believe that McGee stabbed Gelzer in the back while he was sleeping on the sofa at his Brooklyn home after a drug dispute in March 2022.

Gelzer was stabbed multiple times, hit with a hammer and succumbed to his wounds.

The district attorney's office says police believe McGee used a small saw and hammer to dismember the body, placed most of it into plastic bags and then into a suitcase. Gelzer's head and torso were stored in the refrigerator while his arms and legs were put in the freezer.

Body found after anonymous tip on wife

Police discovered the body nearly two years later on Jan. 22 during a welfare check after an anonymous tip said that McGee's wife Heather Stines, 45, kept a body in her refrigerator.

Officers then arrested her while McGee was arrested in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Stines has been charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence. It's also unclear whether she has an attorney.

McGee is scheduled to return to court on Monday.

Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund