Torso, Legs and Arms Found in New Haven Likely From Same Victim

The severed torso found in a former Salvation Army store that now sits vacant in New Haven in July likely belongs to a homeless man whose dismembered legs and arms were found days earlier in separate locations, according to police.

Police found the dismembered legs of Ray Roberson, a 54-year-old homeless man, on July 15. The limbs, which were severed at the knee, were discovered in the area of State and Court streets in New Haven, near the State Street Railroad Station. 

Hours later, police found two dismembered arms three to four blocks away, buried in a plastic bag under the Chapel Street Bridge. Police said the arms were also from Roberson.

The torso was uncovered weeks later, on July 30, inside the former Salvation Army building at 274 Crown Street. Investigators searched the area after learning Roberson may have spent time at the adjacent Salvation Army building at 301 George Street. The buildings share a parking lot.

Authorities have not located a head or hands. 

The last time anyone saw Roberson alive was May 20. He had been due in court on June 17 and never reported missing despite failing to show up in court.

Authorities have been investigating the case as a homicide and said it appears to have been personal rather than random, but they do not know where Roberson was killed or dismembered.

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