Criminal Justice Advocate Charged with Murder - Head Found in Freezer, Torso Found in Storage Bin

Wellness Check Leads to Grizzly Discovery of Body Parts Inside Bronx Apartment

Cops walk Sheldon Johnson out of the 44th Precinct in handcuffs. The criminal justice advocate was charged with murder in the dismemberment of Collin Small. -Photo by Citizen

By Dan Gesslein 

Bronx Voice 

March 7, 2024 

BRONX - A criminal justice advocate has been charged in the grizzly death and dismemberment of a man inside a Bronx apartment. Cops made the gruesome discovery during a wellness check after residents heard gunshots.

The NYPD announced the arrest of 48-year-old Sheldon Johnson in the murder of 44-year-old Collin Small. Johnson was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Johnson had frequently professed to turning his life around after leaving prison. His social media accounts posted photos of him with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. -Photo by Twitter

Less than 24 hours after cops initially found the human remains in the Highbridge apartment, the NYPD announced the arrest of Johnson. Investigators said Johnson was caught on surveillance video coming in and out of the building the night of the murder - one time in a blonde wig and another pulling a storage bin. 

According to the NYPD, officers from the 44th Precinct went to Small’s apartment at 979 Summit Avenue for a wellness check. Tenants in the building called 911 after hearing what they thought were gunshots. 

At the Bronx the apartment, officers found a human head in the freezer and a torso in a blue storage bin. According to the NY Post, a building super claimed he saw Johnson walk into the building with a blue storage tub around 2 am but never brought it back out. 

Today, police walked Johnson out of the 44th Precinct station house in handcuffs and wearing a white forensics jumpsuit. 

According to published reports Johnson had started working in the Queens Defenders law firm after being released in 2019. He had served 20 years after being convicted in a group of armed robberies in 1999. 

Johnson had frequently professed to turning his life around after leaving prison. His social media accounts posted photos of him with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.