Couple Arrested After Bronx Woman's Body Found In Garbage Bags

The police arrested two people on Wednesday night in connection with body parts of a woman found in a Bronx Park earlier this week.

The woman has been identified as 25-year-old Lisa Marie Velasquez.

ABC News reports that Daquan Wheeler, 31, of the Bronx, is facing charges of murder, manslaughter, concealment of a human corpse, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon.

The second suspect, Ciara Martinez, 30, of the Bronx, is facing charges of criminal facilitation, hindering prosecution, concealment of a human corpse, tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy.

Velasquez's aunt, Jacqueline Perez, told ABC News that the last time the family saw Velazquez, she'd rushed into to her grandmother's apartment in a panic, grabbed her bag, and said that "she had to go help a friend that was in danger." The family posted a Facebook flyer in an attempt to locate her when she did not return.

The medical examiner confirmed that Velasquez died of "multiple blunt impact injuries" to her skull. It's believed that Wheeler hit Velasquez in the head with a hammer when she attempted to intervene in a domestic dispute between Wheeler and Martinez.

Both Wheeler and Martinez have served time in prison. Wheeler was convicted in both 2008 and 2015 for attempted murder. Martinez served three years in prison for a 2010 robbery conviction.

Velasquez's short life was marred by tragedy. At 12-years-old she witnessed the stabbing and strangling death of her mother, Marilyn Ginel, who was 9-months pregnant at the time. Ginel's romantic partner was convicted of the murder.

"In this lifetime I never thought we would go through something like that again," said Perez.

Last Friday, a Parks Department worker found Velasquez's head and torso in two garbage bags in Crotona Park. On Tuesday, passers by walking along the Barreto Park Shoreline in the Bronx discovered the rest of Velazsquez's remains when they spotted a severed left leg jutting out of a bag beneath the Tiffany Street Pier. A second bag found at the location contained her right arm and leg.