Ghanaian Musician’s Body Dumped in Brooklyn Duffel Bag

The body of 24-year-old Ghanaian Joseph Owusu was found stuffed inside a black duffel bag and abandoned on a Brooklyn sidewalk, police and relatives confirmed, ending a two-week search and leaving his family and the Ghanaian community in New York demanding answers.

Surveillance footage captured two people removing the bag from the trunk of a white sedan and dumping it near a trash can outside a church on Avenue L near East 94th Street in Canarsie around 2 a.m. on October 30, 2026. A scrap-metal collector discovered the remains the following morning. The New York City Medical Examiner’s office has not yet determined the cause of death, and an autopsy is ongoing.

Owusu, whose parents emigrated from Ghana, was born and raised in the Bronx. He worked as a caregiver assisting people with disabilities while studying computer science. At the Ghana United Methodist Church in the Bronx, he served as organist and pianist, often practising for hours to perfect every note. Family and church members described him as kind, devoted and deeply loved.

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His brother, identified in reports as Kojo, Kwadwo or Koho Yeboah, said the family remains shattered. “We have no idea who would do this to my brother. People are evil,” he told the New York Daily News. “I need justice for Joseph. I want the truth to come out because my brother didn’t deserve to die the way he did. He’s only 24. He had a lot of living to do.”

The death comes just one day after 15-year-old Ghanaian Javits Frimpong was chased and fatally shot in the Bronx while on his way to school on October 29. The back-to-back tragedies have deepened grief and anxiety within New York’s Ghanaian community.

Ghana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations visited the family, led by Deputy Permanent Representative Ben Dotsei Malor and Consul-General Anthony El-Adas.

Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa joined by phone to express condolences on behalf of President John Mahama and the government. He described the news as shocking, especially so soon after Frimpong’s killing, and pledged to work with US authorities to ensure a thorough investigation.

The Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., also confirmed Owusu’s identity, noting he had been missing for approximately two weeks. “The circumstances surrounding Joseph’s death remain unclear,” the embassy stated. “The Embassy of Ghana sends its condolences to the bereaved family and will support in every way possible.”

Police continue to investigate. Relatives and Ghanaian officials are pressing for the full facts and for those responsible to be brought to justice.