Prosecutors say man confesses to dismembering woman after remains found in E. Patchogue

Note: This report has been updated following the suspect’s court appearance.

Suffolk police have arrested a man in connection with human remains discovered in East Patchogue Thursday afternoon, with prosecutors saying he confessed to “murdering” the woman’s body with an axe “when she was dead.”

Neither police nor prosecutors have confirmed that the remains are those of Yvette Leonard, a 56-year-old Patchogue woman who disappeared on June 13, saying only in court that the victim had been missing since that date.

However, Leonard’s son Malyk wrote publicly that “a body was found” “it is believed to be my mother”, adding that “the identity of the body has not been confirmed.”

In his latest Facebook post, Malyk Leonard said the arrested Garry Cowell, 72, of 20 Edwards St., was “the person who was last known to be with his mother.” Cowell — who is charged with tampering with evidence and concealing a human remains — was arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip Friday afternoon.

According to a Newsday report, even during the trial where Cowell pleaded not guilty, the identity of the victim was not made public.

“When she died, instead of trying to help, he grabbed an ax, murdered her, and put the pieces of her body in a shopping cart,” said Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fedune, according to the Newsday report.

Fedune further stated that Cowell “admitted to cutting up the victim’s body and scattering it around Suffolk County.”

He was not charged with the woman’s murder. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

“Thank you for all your help finding my mother,” Malyk Leonard, who lives in Brooklyn, wrote on Facebook Friday.

Yvette Leonard, 56, with her son Malyk in a photo that went viral after her disappearance. (courtesy)

Click here to read Newsday’s full report.

Police said that during an investigation by Fifth Division detectives, a body was discovered along Montauk Highway near County Road 101 at 4:30 p.m.

Police said the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy and identify the body.

According to property records, Cowell’s home at 20 Edwards St. is likely a group home known as a simplex, owned by a nonprofit organization that provides support to low-income, disabled and homeless individuals and families.

Greater Long Island is withholding the name of the nonprofit group.

Since Leonard went missing on June 13, Malyk has publicly taken to social media and field efforts to begin searching for his mother, who was reported missing to police on June 18.

Top: Suffolk Police detectives investigate the Babylon killings in April 2024. (GLI archive photo/Michael White)