After overdosing in a Pond Lily Avenue motel room, a 31-year-old New Havener’s body was left wrapped in a sheet in the back seat of a Cadillac for roughly 20 hours as three people who had been with her at the time decided what to do. Ultimately, they drove to Edgewood Park and left her by the skate park — leading police nine months later to arrest one member of that group on the charge of Illegal Disposal of a Body. Those grim details are included in an eight-page arrest warrant affidavit written on Jan. 23 by New Haven police Det. Jessica Stone. The warrant concerns the Feb. 18 arrest of 33-year-old New Havener Kyle Wilson on that one felony count. He has not yet entered a plea to that charge, and is being held on a $250,000 bond. Police posted a press release on X about the arrest on Feb. 21. The Independent obtained a copy of the warrant on Feb. 24. The warrant states that a man called 911 at around 8:07 a.m. on May 30, 2025, to report that he had located someone on the ground by the water near the Edgewood Park skate park. The caller said he believed the person — later identified as 31-year-old Jasmine Wilkes — “may have overdosed or could have been homeless and sleeping.” Police and other emergency personnel responded, found that Wilkes was unresponsive, and pronounced her dead at around 8:17 a.m. Using Milestone cameras, police identified a black four-door Cadillac sedan in that area of Edgewood Park at around 5:07 a.m. — or roughly three hours before Wilkes’ body was found. Police tracked that vehicle down to the Best Way Inn on Pond Lily Avenue, where surveillance footage and subsequent witness interviews helped them piece together what happened. Surveillance footage reportedly showed that, at around 4:41 a.m. on May 29, a woman who appeared to be Wilkes walked into Room 142 at the Best Way Inn. “Wilkes does not appear to exit room 142 again.” That footage also reportedly showed three people leave Room 142 soon before 10 a.m.. Two of those people “are carrying a large object covered with a sheet.” They placed the object in the rear seat of the Cadillac. Surveillance footage from the Best Way Inn on May 30 showed the Cadillac leaving the motel’s parking lot at 4:22 a.m. and returning at 5:17 a.m. After being arrested for an unrelated matter, Wilson — one of the three people who carried Wilkes’ body out of the motel room — was interviewed by police on June 24, 2025. He reportedly told cops that Wilkes had overdosed in Room 142, “he believed she may have had Fentanyl.” He said she passed out, that he checked on her periodically over the course of the night to make sure she was breathing “and at some point, he realized she wasn’t.” Wilson said that he and others wrapped Wilkes in a bed sheet and placed her in the rear of the Cadillac. “This is consistent with the surveillance footage as well,” the warrant notes. Wilson reportedly told police that he went along with this plan to surreptitiously dispose of Wilkes’ body because he was afraid of a member of that group who “could not afford to have the police called.” According to Wilson and another witness, Wilkes’ body remained inside the Cadillac for around 20 hours “while they tried to figure out where to dump her.” Then, on Jan. 23, 2026, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) determined that Wilkes’ cause and manner of death were both “UNDETERMINED.” The OCME’s “final diagnoses,” however, also noted: “Acute Intoxication due to the Combined Effects of Fentanyl, Cocaine and Diphenhydramine … and Found Deceased Outdoors.” Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who may have information valuable to investigators to call detectives at 203-946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip line at 866-888-8477. If you are struggling with substance use, you are not alone. Local resources are listed at https://safersubstanceuse.org/new-haven-resources/. The Never Use Alone hotline is 1-800-484‑3731. The post A Motel Overdose, A Body In The Park, — 9 Months Later — An Arrest appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less