Man Who Dismembered Woman And Hid Remains On LI Pleads Guilty: DA

PATCHOGUE, NY — A Long Island man pleaded guilty on Friday to concealing the corpse of a woman who died from an overdose, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.

Gary Cowell, 72, of Patchogue, pleaded guilty to unlawful concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence for dismembering Yvette Leonard after she died of an overdose, the DA said.

According to the investigation, on June 18, 2024, law enforcement was alerted that Leonard, 56, of Patchogue, was missing and had not been seen since June 13, 2024. The DA said detectives interviewed Cowell after they learned that he was the last person to see her alive.

Cowell later 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, after multiple interviews with witnesses and numerous subpoenas and search warrants, the DA said.

Cowell also led detectives to the locations where he had dumped the remains and they recovered the axe that Cowell used to dismember the victim, the DA said.

"This defendant’s actions following Ms. Leonard’s death denied the victim of the dignity and respect that she deserved," Tierney said. "We hope that this plea allows Ms. Leonard’s family some measure of closure after enduring immense pain."

On Jan.16, Cowell pleaded guilty to 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, the DA said.