DA: Woman stuffed in suitcase last seen with Huntington man charged with concealing her corpse

A woman whose body was bound and stuffed in a suitcase in Huntington earlier this month was last seen alive days earlier with the man now accused of discarding her remains, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

Ronald Schroeder, 41, pleaded not guilty to concealment of a human corpse in connection with the death of 31-year-old Seikeya Jones and felony drug charges before acting state Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski at his arraignment in Riverhead Wednesday morning. Schroeder has not been charged with causing Jones' death.

"This case is immensely troubling," District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. "Ms. Jones and her family deserve a full investigation. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that the victim and her family receive justice."

Police were led to Schroeder's apartment building shortly before noon Sept. 3 after receiving reports of a foul odor and suspicious activity in a wooded area nearby, prosecutors said.

Investigators found Jones' body in that wooded area adjacent to the apartment building, inside a slightly open suitcase tied together with bungee cords, her wrists and ankles bound by a black cord, Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Jonathan Cappiello told Pilewski. 

"A search warrant was then conducted at Schroeder’s apartment, which revealed a strong odor of human remains as well as bungee cords and a black cord matching materials found on Seikeya Jones’ body," Cappiello said.

Jones was last seen alive with Schroeder on Aug. 29 in his apartment building, five days before the gruesome discovery, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Cappiello said an autopsy is still pending to determine the cause of death of Jones, who police said was homeless but grew up in the Huntington Station area.

Schroeder’s court-appointed defense attorney, Christopher Gioe, of Hauppauge, said he has not been given any indication yet as to how prosecutors believe Jones died or how she and Schroeder, who each have a drug arrest history, knew each other.

With his client not charged with murder, Gioe pushed for bail after prosecutors requested Schroeder be remanded to the county jail as he was following his arrest.

"The charges are all nonviolent in nature," Gioe told Pilewski, who set bail at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond. Gioe told reporters outside the courtroom that his client will not be able to make bail.

Schroeder was arrested by MTA Police at Penn Station the afternoon of Sept. 6 after he arrived to retrieve a knapsack containing methamphetamines and liquid ecstasy he had left behind on a Long Island Rail Road train, prosecutors said.

In addition to the concealment charge, Schroeder is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, and fourth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Under New York law, a person is guilty of concealing a human corpse when they do so with the "the intent to conceal the fact of the death or to avoid discovery of the cause or manner of death."

Cappiello said Schroeder gave "detailed admissions" to police about "concealing the human remains of Seikeya Jones as well as the possession" of methamphetamines.

If convicted and sentenced to consecutive terms on the top drug charge and concealment, Schroeder faces the potential of spending up to 13 years in state prison. He is due back in court Oct. 16.

Relatives of Jones previously told Newsday she was last seen leaving her mother’s home in Huntington Station Aug. 16. She was described as one of five siblings who grew up in Huntington and graduated from Harborfields High School. She was the mother of a 4-year-old boy, her mom previously said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.