An exterminator called in to chase away pests at a Queens elementary school found something far worse — a human body stuffed inside the building’s chimney.
Story Snapshot
- A foul smell at PS 113 in Glendale, Queens led an exterminator to find human remains inside the school chimney on June 30, 2024.
- The exterminator opened the ash dump, found a shoe, then felt a foot — and called 911.
- The school was closed for summer break and construction, with no students or staff present.
- Police made no arrests and identified no victim at the time of the initial report — the investigation remains open.
A Routine Pest Call Turns Into a Crime Scene
A custodian at PS 113 Anthony J. Pranzo noticed a bad smell inside the building and called an exterminator, thinking animals were to blame. The exterminator opened the chimney’s ash dump and found a shoe. Then a foot. Police received a 911 call just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30.
Within minutes, New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers were on the scene in Glendale, a quiet residential neighborhood in Queens.
Investigators confirmed human remains were inside the chimney. The school had let out for summer break just the Friday before, and the building was closed for construction work.
Only contractors had been coming and going. Detectives immediately began asking those contractors whether any of their crew members were unaccounted for.
What Police Found — and What They Still Don’t Know
The NYPD Crime Scene Unit set up inside the empty school and began working through the chimney structure. The remains had not yet been removed as of the first afternoon of the investigation.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner took over the job of identifying the victim and determining how the person died. As of the time of initial reporting, no identity had been confirmed and no cause of death had been established.
No arrests were made. No suspect was named. Police did not say how long the body may have been inside the chimney. The school had been undergoing repairs to the hot-water heating and wiring, according to the New York City Buildings Department. That means contractors had been working in and around the building for an extended period before the discovery.
An Old Building With New Questions About Access
PS 113 is a public school with the kind of aging infrastructure common across New York City. Construction scaffolding had been up at the building for roughly a year before the discovery.
That raises a serious question: how does a body end up sealed inside a chimney at an active school site without anyone noticing? The NYPD had not publicly answered that question by the end of the first day of the investigation.
The New York City Department of Education released a statement calling the discovery “deeply upsetting and concerning.” Officials said they were putting support in place for the school community while police investigated.
What the department did not address was how access to the chimney was controlled during construction — a gap in the public record that warrants a straight answer.
A Community Left With Unsettling Questions
Parents and neighbors reacted with shock. The idea that a body could be hidden inside a school — even a closed one — is the kind of thing that rattles a community long after the crime scene tape comes down. Kids return to that building in the fall. Families deserve to know who was found, how the person got there, and whether anyone is responsible.
Exterminator finds human remains in chimney of Queens middle school https://t.co/JGahOfHoSp via @gothamist
— leonie haimson (@leoniehaimson) July 1, 2026
The facts here are grim and straightforward. Someone died inside a school chimney in Queens. An exterminator found the body by accident. Police are investigating.
What comes next depends on the Medical Examiner’s findings and whether detectives can piece together how this happened during what should have been a supervised construction project. The answers matter — not just for the victim’s family, but for every parent who sends a child to PS 113 each fall.
Sources:
abcnews.com, abc7.com, people.com
