Gang member, 25, is identified as 'person of interest' after NYC escort's body was found stuffed in a barrel in New Jersey street after it was carted out of luxury Wall St high-rise
The NYPD have identified a 25-year-old Queens gang member as a 'person of interest' in the killing of a New York City escort whose naked body was found stuffed in barrel on a New Jersey street after being carted out of a luxury Wall Street apartment.
Nicole Flanagan's body was discovered last Friday when residents of Ridgefield Park reported a revolting smell coming from the large plastic container at the corner of Hobart Street and Teaneck Road, police said.
The 42-year-old was last seen on surveillance footage the night before entering a swanky building at 95 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan, sources said.
Surveillance footage from the building showed a plastic barrel being carted from 95 Wall Street and loaded into a U-Haul van around 10.45pm on August 12, according to police sources.
Earlier in the evening, she was accompanied by the man the NYPD identified, a 25-year-old who has since been said to be a member of the notorious SNOW Gang, according to the New York Post.
Police in bulletproof vests on Thursday raided the apartment on the 22nd floor, which Flanagan listed as a residence.
But neighbors said they missed the 'two guys' that live there by a few hours.
Nicole Flanagan's body was discovered last Friday when residents of Ridgefield Park reported a revolting smell coming from a large plastic container in the street, police said
The naked body of a female escort was found in a 55-gallon barrel in a New Jersey on Friday after being carted out of 95 Wall Street in the barrel on Thursday
Police in bulletproof vests raided the luxury building in the Financial District on Thursday
'They were OK guys. They would stop and talk. They were loud and would play hip-hop music but they seemed harmless,' one neighbor told the Daily News. 'You never know. One day they seem harmless, but one day you're in a barrel in New Jersey.'
Another resident said he had been on a Zoom call when he heard 'a big noise' at around 11.15am.
'I heard, "Get down! Get down! Get down!" he said. 'Not being afraid I just opened my door to see what was happening and there were eight policemen with guns drawn and they had pried the door.'
One neighbor living next to the men on the 22nd floor said the cops had 'missed these guys by a few hours.'
'I thought they were dealing drugs, but they were always riding skateboards. I just thought they were on the delivery end. Their apartment smelled like marijuana and bad air freshener. They always had some strange incense going,' he added.
Flanagan was identified through her fingerprints; no trauma was found on her body
Flanagan was a mother of three children. She is pictured at her youngest son's first birthday several years ago
He said that a woman had moved in with the two men in their 20s around a year ago, but that she had moved out.
Flanagan, who lived in New York, had a criminal record that reportedly included prostitution and drug charges
The neighbor said he often heard them arguing and she would be heard saying: 'Don't hit me again.'
Flanagan's ex-boyfriend, Ray Underwood, who is the father of her son, said that she had ' three beautiful children that adored her, and loved her.'
Underwood, who now lives in Connecticut, said he and Flanagan had 'lost touch' over the last decade and that he had custody of their son.
'I don’t care what she did. I don’t care who she was with. I don’t care. No one deserves to have that done to her, especially a mother of three,' he added.
Sources told the newspaper that Flanagan had a criminal record that included prostitution and drug charges.
She had previously lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in the Fordham section of The Bronx. Flanagan would have celebrated her 43rd birthday on September 11.
Police in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, on Friday were called to reports of a strange barrel left in the street
Officers are seen inspecting the green barrel, in footage obtained by CBS News
The woman was identified as Nicole Flanagan, 42, when her fingerprints pulled up a previous prostitution arrest. A Bergen County medical examiner found no signs of injury on the body and has ordered a toxicology report
Surveillance footage shows Flanagan entering the building with a member of the Snow Gang on Thursday. A security guard questioned a man when he entered the building with the barrel but he said he was moving and later carted it out into a U-Haul van
The 24-story building lists 507 units with a basketball ball court and fitness center on the top floor. Two-bedroom apartments start at $6,327, according to owner UDR's website, but the NYPD said the building has a number of complaints on file with the department.
An NYPD K-9 unit was said to be expected to search the apartment for evidence of blood in the coming days.
A security guard working there had questioned a man when he entered the building with the drum. The man said he was moving and later was seen rolling it out on a luggage rack, sources said.
After the barrel was dumped with the trash in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, sanitation workers ignored it because the container was not standard size, the Daily Voice reported, citing a law enforcement source.
As temperatures soared into the 90s, the foul smell emanating from the barrel eventually drew the attention of a police officer who opened the lid, discovered the body and then sealed the container again.
Flanagan, pictured left with her eldest son, was heard by neighbors saying 'don't hit me again' before her death
A Bergen County medical examiner identified Flanagan through fingerprints. He found no signs of injury on the body and has ordered a toxicology report, sources added.
The county agency said last week that it was investigating 'the circumstances of the death and the origin of the container' but did not release the woman's name or the New York City connection.
The NYPD was brought into the investigation by New Jersey police Wednesday, sources said. Cops are still searching for the U-Haul.
The 95 Wall Street office did not reply to DailyMail.com for a comment.
Who are NYC's SNOW Gang? Queens-based crew linked to escort's death
The SNOW gang has been around New York City since at least 2013 and mainly operates in Queens.
The name is said to stand for 'Showin' N***as Our Worth' or 'Swagger N***as Operate With'. The gang also goes by LOE, or Loyalty Over Everything.
In 2015 seven members of the EBK (Everybody Killas) were charged with the shootings of two alleged SNOW members in January 2013.
In 2016, alleged SNOW member Trevor Lucas, 23, of Jamaica, was sentenced to 8-25 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. He was already serving a two-year sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
In 2019, purported SNOW member Antoine Folkes, 23, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. At the time he was wanted for questioning in connection with a similar killing hours earlier.
In March 2021, purported SNOW member Christopher 'Essay' Acevedo, 26, of Jamaica, was arrested on murder in aid racketeering charges for allegedly gunning down David Hutchinson in front of a bodega on August 26, 2019.
And in May of this year, 22-year-old Yuri Oluh, a known member of the Queens-based gang, was sentenced to four years in federal prison in connection to a July 2020 shooting outside the high-end Americana mall in Long Island.
The gang was thrust back into the spotlight this week when one of its members was linked to the murder of 42-year-old Nicole Flanagan.
Surveillance video purportedly showed Flanagan entering a Manhattan building with a man believed to be involved in the gang hours before she was killed.
Her body was found stuffed in a barrel on a New Jersey street last Friday.