Nicole Flanagan: Woman Found Dead in Barrel Last Seen in Wall Street Building

Nicole Flanagan is the New York woman who police said was last seen alive entering a luxury building on Wall Street in Manhattan’s financial district. On August 13, her body was found stuffed inside a barrel that had been left on a road in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office identified Flanagan in a news release.

According to the prosecutor’s office, investigators have arrested a man they say helped move Flanagan’s body from Wall Street to New Jersey. Aquellio Parker, 29, is facing charges including being an accomplice to disturbing, moving or concealing human remains. As of this writing, police had not publicly identified any suspects in Flanagan’s death.

Here’s what you need to know:

Flanagan Was Last Seen in New York City & Investigators Haven’t Determined How She Died

Flanagan was seen on a surveillance video entering 95 Wall Street with a man on August 6, according to the New York Post. The New York Daily News, the Post and CBS New York cited “sources” who said Flanagan worked as an escort.

The Post, citing the police, has also reported that the man Flanagan was spotted with inside the building’s elevator was identified as a “25-year-old gang member.” But NorthJersey.com, citing Detective Arlene Muniz of the NYPD, also reported that police could not verify why Flanagan had been in the building or who she was visiting. CBS New York also reported that investigators tracked Flanagan’s cellphone to the building.

Investigators haven’t disclosed exactly when Flanagan died. As of this writing, officials have also not described her death as a homicide. Prosecutors have only said it’s an active investigation.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said that as of August 20, they had not yet determined how Flanagan died. The Daily News reported that an autopsy was done on Flanagan’s remains but there were “no obvious signs of trauma” on her body.

Police Raided a Wall Street Apartment Where Neighbors Said 2 Young Men, Who Weren’t on the Lease, Had Been Living

NYC man charged with helping transport Nicole Flanagan's body in barrel to NJ https://t.co/DdQ05k1ImC pic.twitter.com/oLZPU53MqT

— New York Post (@nypost) August 25, 2021

Police raided a 22nd-floor apartment at 95 Wall Street on August 19, The New York Daily News reported, but didn’t find anyone inside. Neighbors told the newspaper that two young men had been living in the unit for about one year and that the area around the apartment “often smelled of weed and bad air freshener.”

One neighbor told the Daily News, “I thought they were dealing drugs… They always had some strange incense going.” The New York Post, also citing neighbors, reported that the two men were not on the lease but had some sort of arrangement with the person renting the unit.

Bergen County ProsecutorAquellio Parker was accused of helping to move Nicole Flanagan’s body from New York to New Jersey.

According to The Post, Aquellio Parker was seen on surveillance video bringing a large barrel to the Wall Street building on August 11 and then was seen the next day moving a barrel onto a U-Haul van.

Bergen County prosecutors said a barrel was then found abandoned on August 13 near Hobart Street and Teaneck Road in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Prosecutors said the police were called out to the area just after 10:30 a.m. after getting a call about a “suspicious large plastic container having been left in the street.” CBS New York reported it was the same barrel that was seen being wheeled out of the Wall Street building.

Prosecutors say Parker is facing three charges: Being an accomplice to disturbing, moving and/or concealing human remains, being an accomplice to desecrating, damaging and/or destroying human remains, and one count of second-degree conspiring with a co-defendant to disturb, move, conceal and/or desecrate a deceased body. Parker surrendered to New York police on August 22.

Flanagan Was a Connecticut Native With 3 Children

Flanagan was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, her family told the Greenwich Time. According to her obituary, Flanagan was 42 years old and was the mother of three children. Her sister-in-law started a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses; the fundraiser has generated more than $9,000.

Flanagan had most recently been living in the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx, NorthJersey.com reported. Ray Underwood, who had a son with Flanagan, told the New York Daily News he hadn’t seen much of Flanagan over the past decade. “She had three beautiful children that adored her, and loved her, and you know, a family that loved her and cared for her but, you know, just lost touch,” Underwood said. “I don’t care what she did. I don’t care who she was with. I don’t care. No one deserves to have that done to her, especially a mother of three.”

A friend of Flanagan’s named Katrina Galloway told The New York Post that Flanagan worked as a receptionist and did clerical work after high school. But Galloway said Flanagan’s life took a turn when she allegedly started working as a stripper. “She went from being a dancer into escorting, so I’m pretty sure she always feared for her safety,” Galloway said. “She was on drugs and drinking from the lifestyle that she lived.” Galloway added that Flanagan’s oldest son, Aaron Underwood, is now in his 20s and that her two other children are minors.

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