NEW YORK, NY - MTA Transit Police captured a man at Penn Station last week who was in possession of a date rape drug and who may be connected to the discovery of a dead woman stuffed inside a suitcase near an apartment complex in Huntington, a New York suburb located on Long Island, Fox News Digital reports.
Ronald Schroeder, 41, pleaded not guilty to charges including concealing a human corpse and possession of methamphetamine and GHB when he was arraigned on Saturday, according to court records.
The victim was found with her wrists and ankles bound inside a suitcase dumped along a road in Huntington last week, according to Newsday, citing remarks made by a prosecutor inside the courtroom. Thirty-one-year-old Seikeya Jones was reported missing by her family on Aug. 16, ABC-7 reported.
Prosecutors said that Schroeder, whose listed address is an apartment adjacent to where the suitcase was found, did not personally appear in court due to an illness, Newsday said. However, prosecutors said he gave a “detailed admission” after authorities encountered the scent of human remains inside his home.
Judge Jennifer Henry ordered Schroeder remanded without bail, and records show he is due back in court on Tuesday.
The Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement that the case began to unravel when a 911 caller reported suspicious activity in the woods outside the Huntington apartment building on September 3. Responding officers found the suitcase, and Jones was subsequently identified as the victim.
MTA police arrested Schroeder at Penn Station in Manhattan on Friday, Sept. 6, in mid-afternoon under an outstanding drug warrant, authorities said.
Once he was in custody, the additional charges were added. GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, is known as a “date rape” drug. While the cause and manner of Jones’ death has not yet been determined or at least released by authorities, it is likely additional charges will be added.
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