New Rochelle Woman Charged with Murder, Concealment of a Human Corpse

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 18, 2023) — A New Rochelle woman was charged Monday afternoon with Murder in the Second Degree, an A1 Felony and Concealment of a Human Corpse, an E Felony, following a gruesome homicide earlier this month. This according to a statement issued by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

The corpse was found by New Rochelle Police officers at 155 Franklin Avenue in a 3rd floor apartment in New Rochelle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The corpse was in tact not dismembered as we originally reported. The Westchester County Medical Examiner is currently conducting DNA testing to confirm the identity of the victim; police believe they know identity (hence DNA testing of known samples) but want absolute confirmation. The victim’s identity will be announced after the ME completes DNA testing and files report. We will post that information here.

Kenya M. Tilford, 40, of New Rochelle, NY was arraigned Monday afternoon in New Rochelle City Court before Judge Jared Rice. She was remanded to Westchester County Jail.

In the Felony Complaint filed by the DA in New Rochelle City Court on Friday, New Rochelle Police stated Tilford suffocated her roommate on or about September 7th then hid the corpse in her apartment for about a week. Tilford denied killing her roommate, claiming she was in Virginia over the past week. She told police she suffers from mental illness and uses cocaine. During a police interview on Friday, Police confronted Tilford with CCTV video from the Home Depot in New Rochelle where she obtained a hooded coverall, bleach, tarps, a storage bin (in which the body was located), paper towels, rubber gloves and a chainsaw.

NRPD Statement:

On Friday September 15th, 2023, New Rochelle Police received a report that a deceased body was seen in a third-floor apartment of a multifamily home on Franklin Avenue New Rochelle Detectives responded and located a deceased body of a female in her 20’s in the apartment. Detectives quickly developed leads that led to them finding a person of interest who was located in a hotel in Elmsford, NY, who shortly thereafter was taken into custody without incident.

The identity of the deceased is still under investigation but is believed at this time to possibly be a roommate of the person of interest. New Rochelle Detectives are working closely with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Medical Examiner to determine the identity of the deceased female.

The person of interest, who is the resident of the apartment where the body was found, was soon found to be a suspect in causing the death of the victim and charged as such.

This case is still an active investigation and anyone with information about this case is asked to call New Rochelle Police at 914-654-2300. New Rochelle Police would like to acknowledge and thank Tarrytown Police and Elmsford Police for their assistance in this investigation.

UPDATE: Based on the Felony Complaint filed in New Rochelle City Court on September 15, 2023, seen by Talk of the Sound, we can add new details from the investigation based on the complaint:

Between September 7, 2023 through to September 15, 2023, Kenya Tilford caused the death of a female person by suffocating such person and then concealed the corpse at a 3rd floor apartment at 155 Franklin Avenue for a period of days.

Tilford was observed on CCTV video at the Home Depot in New Rochelle. She obtained a hooded coverall, bleach, tarps, a storage bin in which the body was located, paper towels and rubber gloves and a chainsaw.

On September 15, 2023 at 8:55 am at the Days Inn in Elmsford, NY, a New Rochelle Police Detective interviewed Tilford. She told the Detective she has a mental illness and that she takes medication. She stated that she “didn’t kill nobody” and that she was at the hotel and she was in Virginia for the past week which her mother could verify.

On September 15, 2023 at 4:38 pm at New Rochelle Police Department Headquarters, Tilford was interviewed again. She stated that she was in Virginia for the past week. She purchased numerous cleaning supplies and paint because her landlord was going to paint her apartment. She stated that she had left for Virginia on Sunday night and did not return until late Thursday night or early Friday morning. When confronted with video at the Home Depot earlier in the week, she stated that has mental health issues and uses cocaine.

Original Source Report

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our initial report, published in the early morning hours of Monday, September 18, was based on a single source with some knowledge of the investigation. As all of the official updated information is in this article we edited the original article to refer readers to this article.

News12 has advanced the story here: Woman faces murder charge, accused of concealing corpse in New Rochelle apartment

Gyllian Dunkley lives in the multifamily house and said she knew both women. She told News 12 that she had some concerns about how the younger woman was treated.

“She was fearful, but she did everything that this bully and this monster asked her to do,” Dunkley said. “She did laundry. She cooked. She got tortured and now she’s dead.”

Dunkley told News 12 that she and Tilford both have ties to the Human Development Services of Westchester. Dunkley says she reported these concerns to the agency.

“She came downstairs with a knife and tried to throw me over my balcony,” Dunkley said.

News 12 reached out to the agency for a statement but has not heard back.