MO - Brandy Castaneda Helbock, 43, found dead by KC trash collectors, 8 Jan 2016

[dotr]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article53894010.html

 

[CaseRavel]

Within blocks of me.

 

[pappa rob]

How awful..

 

[dotr]

Within blocks of me.

Welcome to Ws CaseRavel!
What is the mood in your neighbourhood since the body was identified?

 

[Tawny]

Keep us updated, I'm interested in the details. They didn't release cause of death but a homicide investigation was opened.

 

[pappa rob]

Within blocks of me.

Welcome to the group! It's always nice to have some local input.

 

[eucalyptuz]

Brandy's fb page is easily discoverable but doesn't contain much info however her most recent post was a bit grisly and gave me a bit of a shock especially after just having read her case here.
https://www.facebook.com/brandy.helbockcastaneda?ref=br_rs

I must admit these kinds of cases where bodies are found in the trash always effect me - so sad the way a person can just be jettisoned by someone along with the eggshells and pizza boxes.

 

[gia2]

Brandy's fb page is easily discoverable but doesn't contain much info however her most recent post was a bit grisly and gave me a bit of a shock especially after just having read her case here.
https://www.facebook.com/brandy.helbockcastaneda?ref=br_rs

I must admit these kinds of cases where bodies are found in the trash always effect me - so sad the way a person can just be jettisoned by someone along with the eggshells and pizza boxes.

I know the post is supposed to be humorous but it's really horrible to look at! I was a bit shocked when I looked at it. FB removes photos of babies breastfeeding (with a mostly covered breast) but things like this don't get removed :/ I'm very squeamish though about things like piercings!

It is so horrible isn't it! It really makes me sad too, that a person thinks this person is so worthless that they can be disposed of in a bin. No dignity at all for this poor woman.

 

[pappa rob]

I know the post is supposed to be humorous but it's really horrible to look at! I was a bit shocked when I looked at it. FB removes photos of babies breastfeeding (with a mostly covered breast) but things like this don't get removed :/ I'm very squeamish though about things like piercings!

It is so horrible isn't it! It really makes me sad too, that a person thinks this person is so worthless that they can be disposed of in a bin. No dignity at all for this poor woman.

Life's a pain in the ***! It's awful I know, what about this boyfriend. I hate it when a girl dies just after a fight with the significant other

 

[CaseRavel]

Welcome to Ws CaseRavel!
What is the mood in your neighbourhood since the body was identified?

I can drive pass it tomorrow.(well, 3am, so- today). I have already looked at the road on google earth and its a small stretch of tree lined road.
I dont talk to many neighbors but I assume most of them do not know or think about it. I cant say its the most favorable side of town.

Her address has been listed as a P.O box since 2010.

 

[eucalyptuz]

I am wondering how long poor Brandy was in a state of limbo before ending up in the trash I'd like to see the missing persons report apparently filed in December...

Kansas City police were back out at the President Garden Apartments near 82nd Street and Troost Avenue. People who live here tell us Helbock had lived in the top floor home for at least the past year. When she didn't return home recently, her family knew something was wrong and called police.

"We do know the person was reported missing earlier last month," Capt. Tye Grant said.

In fact, no one had seen Helbock for weeks. It was Friday when city workers found her body as they were collecting trash.

Read more: http://www.fox10tv.com/story/309382...dy-near-side-of-road-with-trash#ixzz3wytHxTPZ

 

[eucalyptuz]

I've been thinking about this and what was mentioned in the most recent media reports about Brandy being a missing person for weeks and I have a theory...
-her body was discovered Friday Jan 8 by sanitation workers.
-the previous 2 Fridays were Christmas Day and New Year's Day and I'm assuming that there was no normal Friday collection on those dates.
-in the link I put above there is a picture of the street side where her body was found and it seems like the houses are way back from the street and most passing traffic may not notice a suspicious smell etc.
I think Brandy may have been on that roadside for a few weeks...

ETA: this news reel leads me to believe that it was a area not covered by a regular trash collection.
http://www.fox10tv.com/story/30919067/sanitation-workers-find-human-remains-in-trash

 

[eucalyptuz]

Obituary stating that Brandy may have had medical and mental health problems.
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/di...y-Castaneda&lc=2521&pid=177236160&mid=6751390
No other news out there about this case...

 

[CaseRavel]

Trash day is on friday but if its a holiday they pick it up one day later. Its not skipped altogether. But the workers that day were on somewhat of a special assignment since theres no houses on that street.. Its just a common illegal dump area. So if she was there a while, Im not sure anyone would of noticed right away.

(she was found by the 3rd pole on the right)

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

From October:

‘This isn’t just about Brandy’: Murder victim’s sister thanks KC for its help

http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mary-sanchez/article107389647.html

The ability of mental illness to fray family bonds is stunningly cruel.

Obviously, the person with the diagnosis bears the brunt of illnesses like depression, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. But when a loved one is suffering, siblings, parents and children are drawn in as well. Their patience alone will not bring resolution, or even a stabilization of the disease’s effects. Nor can deep financial pockets cure all.

And if the beloved family member is an adult, unwilling or unable to manage their treatment alone, strained relations often unravel further.

And so, a memorial service on Sunday thanked the Kansas City organizations that helped when Brandy Helbock-Castaneda’s family could no longer take the lead. Mary Helbock, Brandy’s younger sister, organized the event at the Scottish Rite Temple.

Brandy Helbock-Castaneda was found in January by city workers. Her body had been stuffed into a trash bag and dumped in the 4900 block of Brooklyn Avenue. The cause of death, her sister said, was blunt force trauma to the head. She had been missing a month. The case is unsolved. She was 42.

Brandy Helbock-Castaneda Memorial #4BKC Facebook Page

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

An arrest was made earlier this month.

Paroled murderer charged in beating death of Kansas City woman two years ago

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article203790194.html

Kevin O. Hurley Sr., 59, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Brandy K. Castaneda, 42, whose body was found in January 2016 near 49th Street and Brooklyn Avenue. Jackson County prosecutors said Tuesday that DNA linked Hurley to the homicide, which had remained unsolved for two years.

Police traced three outgoing calls from Castaneda's cellphone to a person living at an apartment building across the street from where Castaneda was last seen alive. Detectives questioned that person, who said she did not know the victim but that her uncle, Hurley, had been at her home with her fiance at the time Castaneda was last seen nearby.

At some point, DNA evidence from the crime was matched to Hurley, who had been released from prison on parole in 2013 after serving nearly 30 years for first-degree robbery and murder convictions in Jackson County.