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Queens woman found in Plumb Beach trash can was strangled, medical examiner says

The medical examiner ruled the death of 38-year-old Tanaya Cambell Ortiz a homicide around one month after her body was found.

Zoe Cosgrove

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Oct 14, 2026, 12:54 PM

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The Queens woman who was discovered inside a trash can at the Plumb Beach parking lot was strangled, according to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The medical examiner ruled the death of 38-year-old Tanaya Cambell Ortiz a homicide around one month after her body was found.

Detectives say the investigation began at around 3 p.m. on Sept. 16 in the parking lot off the Belt Parkway.

Officers discovered Ortiz inside a garbage can, unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

A suspect - and any potential motive in the case - were not immediately known.

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