A New York City man who killed and dismembered an acquaintance, later hiding parts of the body in his refrigerator, has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
On Nov. 19, 48-year-old Nicholas McGee was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole, about a month after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse, according to a press release from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said that in March 2022, McGee repeatedly stabbed 38-year-old Kawsheen Gelzer in the back as Gelzer slept on a sofa in the Flatbush apartment McGee shared with his wife, Heather Stines.
Medical testimony cited in the release indicated that Gelzer was stabbed more than 60 times and also struck with a hammer during the attack. After the killing, McGee allegedly searched Gelzer’s pockets, took the drugs he was carrying and used them with Stines, prosecutors said.
According to the release, McGee then dragged Gelzer’s body to the bathroom, where it remained in the bathtub for several days before he used a saw and hammer to dismember the remains, placing them in separate plastic bags.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/nicolas-mcgee-1-112625-fb978713bbf3415db8bcf99b47b8816c.jpg)
He then hid Gelzer’s head, torso, arms and legs inside a refrigerator and freezer in the apartment, sealing both appliances shut with tape and glue, prosecutors said.
The remains were not discovered until Jan. 20, 2024, when an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip led police to McGee’s apartment. At that time, McGee was already in custody in Virginia on an unrelated matter. He later confessed to the killing and dismemberment while speaking with NYPD detectives after they agreed to give him a cigarette, according to the release.
A sentencing memo obtained by the New York Daily News stated that the attack stemmed from a drug-related conflict. Gelzer had previously supplied the couple with drugs in exchange for sexual favors from Stines and a place to stay.
On the day of the murder, Stines allegedly refused Gelzer’s request for oral sex. Later, when McGee asked Gelzer for drugs, Gelzer refused, and McGee reportedly said he felt disrespected, per the memo.
“This was a deeply disturbing act of violence by a defendant who not only stole a man’s life, but then desecrated his body,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in the release. “The cruelty and disregard for human life shown in the case are almost beyond comprehension.”
Stines pleaded guilty in October 2024 to concealment of a human corpse and third-degree bail jumping. She is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
