Story by Ethan
On March 12th, 2026, the arrest of Rupchand Simboo, age 74, was announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Rupchard Simboo was charged with two counts of second-degree Murder, two counts of Concealment of a Human Corpse, and two counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence. The arrest and charges against Rupchard Simboo were a result of an investigation handled by the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, on the evening of July 13th, 2025, both Rupchand Simboo and the victim, 33-year-old Salisha Ali, were staying at the defendant’s home in South Ozone Park, New York. It was reported that the following morning Salisha Ali had failed to arrive at her job in Brooklyn, New York, without any attempts at contact with anyone either. On July 19th, 2025, the defendant called 911 to report the victim missing after being asked to by the mother. At approximately 7 a.m. on September 22nd, 2025, two employees from the NYPD Department of Sanitation came across a blue tarp wrapped in yellow rope in a wooded area in the vicinity of 149th Avenue and Brookville Boulevard. The two workers approached and lifted the tarp to uncover a rotting female corpse. After examining the corpse it was revealed that the discovered remains belonged to the victim. A court-authorized search warrant was executed atSalisha Ali’s residence that uncovered plastic wrap and yellow rope determined to be consistent with the yellow rope used to tie up the victim’s corpse. Another court-authorized search warrant was carried out at Rupchand Simboo’s work garage and detectives found a moving tarp matching the blanket used to cover the victim’s corpse with the yellow rope. On March 5th and 6th, 2026, several other body parts including a head, legs, and arm, were found south of the North Channel Bridge in the area of Jamaica Wildlife Refuge and Cross Bay Boulevard. Examination by analysts from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the found body parts also belonged to Salisha Ali. Detectives used Rupchand Simboo’s Life360 data and GPS coordinates to track his whereabouts on July 14th and 15th, 2025. This was able to help determine that the defendant was where Salisha Ali was last seen on July 14th, 2025, and also was at the location her torso was discovered on July 15th, 2025.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Rupchand Simboo are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
