Federal agents locked up on Wednesday two former Queens residents now living in New Jersey on charges that they allegedly attempted to claim life insurance benefits for a woman whose dismembered body was found in Brooklyn’s Canarsie Park two years ago.
Cory Martin, 33, and Adelle Anderson, 32, allegedly conspired to cash in to the tune of $200,000 by fraudulently taking out life insurance policies for an associate — Brandy Odom, whose corpse was located inside Canarsie Park back on April 9, 2018.
According to federal prosecutors, Odom lived and worked with Martin and Anderson in Rosedale, Queens at the time of her death. Sources familiar with the investigation said that Odom had been “engaged in commercial sex services for Martin” prior to her demise along with Anderson, who referred to Martin as their “daddy.”
But in the life insurance scheme, the criminal complaint noted, Anderson allegedly acted as Odom’s sister when she took out — and later attempted to claim — two life insurance policies on Odom from Globe Life Insurance and the American National Life Insurance Company back in 2017.
Law enforcement sources said that Anderson allegedly listed herself on both policies as Odom’s sister. The Globe Life policy provided a $50,000 benefit, while the American National policy was worth $150,000.
Seventeen days after Odom was found dead, on April 26, 2018, prosecutors reported, Anderson contacted Globe Life to file a claim as beneficiary of the victim’s policy. When the representative asked if Odom’s death was “natural, an accident, homicide or suicide,” Anderson replied, “the third one.”
Anderson then allegedly contacted American National on June 21, 2018 to file a claim related to Odom’s death. When asked if Odom’s death was a homicide, Anderson replied, “Mm-hmm. Hate saying it. It’s just, it’s unbelievable.”
But an examination of the recorded call between Anderson and American National, authorities said, revealed that Anderson appeared to have the same voice as the caller who posed as Brandy Odom in previous contacts with Globe Life and American National.
When police had found Odom’s body, they found that she had been “posthumously dismembered,” with her arms severed at the elbow and both legs cut at the hips. An autopsy revealed that Odom had died of “homicidal asphyxia.”
Martin and Anderson were charged on Nov. 4, 2020 on conspiring to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. They each face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.brandy
