A Patchogue man pleaded guilty to mutilating and hiding the corpse of a woman after she died of an overdose.
On June 18, 2024, law enforcement was alerted that Yvette Leonard, 56, of Patchogue, was missing and had not been seen since June 13, 2024. Detectives interviewed Gary Cowell after they learned that he was the last person to see her alive.
Following multiple interviews with witnesses as well as numerous subpoenas and search warrants, Cowell admitted to detectives that he panicked after Leonard overdosed on drugs that the pair had been ingesting and that he had dismembered her body and then scattered her remains throughout Patchogue.
Cowell also led detectives to the locations where he had dumped the remains. Detectives also recovered the axe and saw that Cowell used to dismember the victim.
On January 16, 2025, Cowell pleaded guilty Unlawful Concealment of a Human Corpse, a Class E felony, and Tampering with Physical Evidence, a Class E felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr. Cowell faces a maximum of 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison.
“This defendant’s actions following Ms. Leonard’s death denied the victim of the dignity and respect that she deserved,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “We hope that this plea allows Ms. Leonard’s family some measure of closure after enduring immense pain.”