NEW YORK _ A tattoo of the word "chocolate" helped police identify a dismembered Brooklyn woman whose body parts were strewn across a city park near her home, police said Wednesday.
The butchered remains of Brandy Odom, described by friends and neighbors as a sweet, smart and pleasant young woman, were found over the last two days by officers searching the 132-acre park, police said.
Odom, 26, lived with an aunt at the Bayview Houses in Canarsie _ about 15 blocks from the thatch of trees where her head and naked torso were found Monday evening, police said.
The tell-tale tattoo that helped cops identify the victim was inked on her left breast, sources said.
When Odom's relatives heard about the word tattooed on the dead woman, they visited the 69th Precinct hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
Odom's sister identified the remains Tuesday night, police sources said.
Brandy "was a sweet girl," said Terell Hunter, 33, who lived in the same building as Odom. "I just had tears in my eyes when I heard _ it's crazy. I can't believe what they did to that girl."
A dog-walker discovered Odom's remains face down and partially covered in leaves just off a park path near E. 86th St. and Seaview Ave. about 6:10 p.m. Monday, police said.
A subsequent search of the park Tuesday turned up the young woman's arms, legs and other body parts found inside plastic bags.
The victim's face was swollen and bruised, with her arms severed at the elbows, cops said. Her legs were hacked just below her buttocks, a source said.
The city Medical Examiner has not ruled on a cause of death, but police sources said Odom may have been strangled. No arrests were made in the gruesome killing and dismemberment.
"Oh my God _ my heart just stops," said Anna Anthanase, 62, a former Flatbush neighbor of the victim. "My heart just stops. She was nice ... She used to call me 'Momma Anna.'"
A heartbroken relative inside the family apartment declined to comment Wednesday.
"Thank you for coming but we don't want to talk right now," a woman said through the peephole.
A vigil for Odom is expected to take place at the park Wednesday evening.
Police believe the killing took place outside the park, and her remains were dumped there only a short time before the body parts were discovered.
Detectives are trying to retrace her activities in the hours before she was carved up and killed.
The investigators were reviewing surveillance video around the park in hopes of finding images of the person who dumped the body.
Odom had no major history of problems with the law, with just a single prostitution arrest in 2012, police sources said.
The family and the neighborhood were stunned and baffled by the grisly homicide.
"Brandy is a very intelligent and educated young woman," said community advocate Tony Herbert, who is helping Odom's family through this difficult time.
"Everyone is bewildered with what has taken place and they hope that whoever is responsible is brought to justice."
