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On July 8, 2014, construction workers stumbled upon a human body without a head, arms or legs in a wooded lot near a ferry terminal in Bay Shore on Long Island, New York. The severed legs were later found nearby by authorities.
“My first impression when I saw the body was, ‘What type of monster would do this?’” Ronald Tavares, who was a Suffolk County homicide detective at the time, told Snapped, airing Sundays at 6/5c p.m. on Oxygen.
After the media spread word of the brutal crime, the victim was identified with help from a family tip and her tattoos as Chenille Browne, 27, a beloved Guyanese married mother of four who lived in Brooklyn and worked in a Manhattan department store.
Her husband, Dale Browne, had planned to move from Guyana with their children after his paperwork was completed. “Dale tells police the last time he spoke with Chinelle was on the morning of July 5,” NBC 4 New York reporter Checkey Beckford said on Snapped.
Chinelle Browne’s revealing autopsy
Because Chinelle’s body was found on Long Island, investigators briefly considered she may be a victim of the Gilgo Beach serial killer.
They reconsidered after more evidence turned up. Chinelle’s arms and head were found 25 miles away in Hempstead, which was outside the typical dumping grounds for the crimes associated with the Gilgo Beach killer.
Moreover, Chinelle’s autopsy showed she’d been stabbed 39 times, indicating a personal motive. “There’s rage there,” said Tavares.
Leah Cuevas emerges in the case
Tenants in Chinelle’s building told detectives that on July 4, Browne had argued with Leah Cuevas, who lived below her in the building and claimed to own it. That led to rent and utilities disputes.
“Chinelle was accusing Leah of scamming her,” said Beckford.
That friction was exacerbated by a bitter personal rift. Detectives learned that Chinelle and Cuevas had once been confidantes. “Leah shared with Chinelle that she had an affair with another man,” said Tavares. When Chinelle brought that up in front of Cuevas’ husband, Cuevas became enraged, according to Snapped.
“It got heated to the point where the New York City Police Department had to be called,” said Michael Mahan, a former Suffolk County homicide detective.
The fight continued on July 5. Neighbors said they heard Chinelle screaming inside Cuevas’ apartment, Mahan said.
After that blowout, Chinelle’s neighbors reported seeing Cuevas mopping the hallway outside her apartment. Detectives searched the residence.
Blood was found in the building hallway and in Cuevas’ living room. Empty bleach bottles, rubber gloves, and carpet cleaner were found in garbage cans.
A red flag sprang up. But the amount of blood found was not consistent with someone who’d been stabbed 39 times, Tavares said.
Detectives interview Leah Cuevas
Cuevas insisted to officials that she owned the building and didn’t hurt Chinelle. She did acknowledged that she got physical with Chinelle, whom, she’d claimed, was still alive after the altercation.
“She was quite proud that she beat her up and, yes, there could be a little blood in the apartment from that fight,” said Tavares.
Cuevas also claimed that Chinelle was seeing other men, who could have harmed her. Police followed up on this allegation and were unconvinced. “We had a sense that Leah Cuevas was indeed our perpetrator,” Tavares said.
Leah Cuevas arrested for murder
Police pulled Cuevas’ cell phone records to trace her whereabouts in relationship to where and when evidence was found. “Practically every single body part matched up to her locations,” said Beckford.
Investigators noted how evidence turned up near Long Island Rail Road stations. “We believe she got off the train and just walked through neighborhoods tossing body parts,” said former prosecutor Robert Biancavilla.
On July 23, 2014, Cuevas was charged with second-degree murder. As prosecutors pieced together Cuevas’ travel between Brooklyn and Long Island, the real owner of the Brooklyn building where Cuevas and Chinelle lived reached out.
She said that while doing a renovation, she pulled up a carpet and padding and found what looked like blood. Investigators analyzed this new evidence. “We had finally found our crime scene,” said Tavares.
In December of 2015, Cuevas was tried for the murder and dismemberment of Chinelle. Prosecutors argued that she used both acquaintances and public transportation to distribute the body parts in various locations.
On December 15, 2015, Cuevas was found guilty and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Dale called his wife’s murder “pure unadulterated evil.”
Snapped airs new episodes on Sundays at 6/5c p.m. on Oxygen.
