A 75-year-old Trinidadian man has been arrested and charged in the killing of his wife, Salisha Ali, after her dismembered body was found in multiple locations across Queens. The suspect, Rupchand Simboo, was taken into custody Wednesday following a medical examiner’s finding that a sharp instrument had been used to kill Ali.
Ali, 34, was last seen alive on July 13, 2025, during a FaceTime call with relatives. Simboo reported her missing later that day, though police now believe she had already been killed. Her family, who did not hear from her for weeks, filed a missing person report in August. The couple met in Trinidad and Tobago in 2023, married in 2024, and Ali relocated to New York from Guyana that same year.
In September 2025, sanitation workers discovered Ali’s partially skeletonized torso in a garbage bag near 149th Avenue and Brookville Boulevard on the edge of Idlewild Park, close to JFK Airport. The torso lacked head, arms, and legs. Police said the body had been methodically dismembered: a knife was used for soft tissue and a saw for bone. The victim was identified through unique tattoos, including three names and a flower. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the torso “didn’t have any wounds or injuries,” complicating determination of the precise cause of death.
Additional remains, including Ali’s head, were discovered last weekend in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Authorities said the methodical dismemberment and removal of body parts suggested deliberate concealment.
Relatives told the news site Documented that Ali worked in a Queens restaurant and was training to become a home health aide. She spoke daily with her mother and three daughters in Guyana. Her sudden silence and missed daily calls prompted growing concern among family members.
Simboo has been charged with murder, obstructing government administration, and concealment of a human corpse. His arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending Wednesday. Police have long questioned his account of Ali’s disappearance, though the motive remains unclear.
“We were shocked when we got the news. It is very horrific. This is something you would hear about in movies,” a relative told the Trinidad Express. “You never thought it would happen to our family.”
