A Bronx man was charged Wednesday night with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his mother, whose dismembered body was found in plastic bags and a suitcase early Tuesday near an elementary school.
Bahsid McClean, 23, was first charged along with his friend William Harris, 26, of Wheeler Avenue, with unlawful dissection of a human body and hindering prosecution, both felonies, in connection with the mutilation of McClean's mother, Tonya Byrd, 45, of the Bronx.
Wednesday night, McClean also was charged with her murder. Police upgraded his charges after compiling enough evidence that McClean alone allegedly killed his mother, a law enforcement official said.
Police released no additional information about the case, which was prompted after a man and his son discovered the Bronx woman's remains before dawn Tuesday. Byrd's remains were strewn in plastic bags and luggage near Grove Hill Elementary School in the Melrose section of the Bronx.
An autopsy completed Wednesday found that Byrd died of stab wounds to the neck.
Harris also was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor, and possession of marijuana, a violation.
Police have no firm motive in the slaying and dismemberment of Byrd, but they theorize her death may have stemmed from her son's jealousy over the attention she lavished on his younger, mentally challenged brother, the senior law enforcement source said.
Wednesday, another official said Byrd and McClean argued in 2008 over money missing from their apartment.
Both McClean and Harris were held at the 40th Precinct Wednesday night, awaiting arraignment in Bronx criminal court.
The charge of unlawful dissection of a human body is an offense under the state health law. Officials at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services said Wednesday that they found no record of the crime being prosecuted in recent years in New York. ___
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