The body of a 24-year-old woman, originally from South St. Paul, Minnesota, was discovered in a garbage compactor at a luxury condominium in Manhattan’s Chelsea, NYC neighborhood on December 1, 2023.
Jaclyn Elmquist, who was residing in Brooklyn, NY, was found deceased in a building’s garbage compactor after a work party, sparking an investigation by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
Elmquist was last seen on November 30, getting into a yellow taxi outside Catch Steakhouse in Manhattan. Surveillance footage from around 11:45 p.m. on West 28th Street showed her walking unsteadily, attempting to open the door of several buildings, suggesting possible inebriation.
The NYPD responded to a 911 call at 540 West 28th Street, the address of the condominium known as +Art, on December 1 around 2:40 p.m. There, officers found Elmquist “unconscious and unresponsive” in the garbage compactor. She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS. A preliminary investigation indicated her injuries were consistent with a fall down the garbage chute, and the NYPD stated that no criminality is suspected at this time.
Elmquist’s phone died four blocks from the +Art building. Her phone’s location data is part of the investigation.
Elmquist, known to her family and friends as Jackie, had recently started working as a recruiting operations specialist for Mission Staffing, an executive search firm. The circumstances of how she entered the condominium building, where she did not reside, remain unclear.
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner is yet to release the official cause of death. The incident remains under investigation by the police, leaving unanswered questions about the events leading up to her death.