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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Liam Buckler

Mum slams cops as tattoo artist's body found behind his shop 6 months after he 'vanished'

A mum has slammed cops after the body of her tattoo artist son was found behind his shop - six months after he "vanished."

Tattoo artist Drexyll Tolstoy, 26, was discovered behind Black Fish Tattoo in New York, US, after his mum Kellie posted the tragic news in his missing GoFundMe page.

He was reportedly found by police just yards from his work building - six months after he was spotted leaving on September 25, 2022.

However, according to Kellie, police failed to look at CCTV from a nearby hotel which showed her son coming back to the tattoo shop on the night he went missing.

The footage led police to searching the area near his work after discovering the new information.

Cops eventually found a body, which was identified as the tattoo artist, after using his dental records.

Kellie shared the heartbreaking news on her son's missing GoFundMe Page before slamming police for failing to look at the CCTV earlier.

She wrote: "They had to use dental records to identify my son. He was found behind his work building.

“It shouldn’t take six months to find someone hundreds of feet away from where they disappeared

"They didn't watch surveillance cameras that would have showed him walking back that night. They never watched the tapes at his work."

Kellie criticised police for failing to look at the CCTV footage as she labelled them "incompetent" after authorities took over six months to look at the nearby hotel video.

She added: "The NYPD is shockingly incompetent, as well as incredibly rude."

A cause of death for Drexyll has yet to be revealed by the medical examiner's office as questions remain over his death.

Kellie wants to know what happened to her son's hoodie, shopping bag and phone on the night he disappeared, which were items he was wearing when reported missing.

She had previously stated how it was unusual for her son to not answer his phone amid concerns over his welfare.

In addition, the devastated mum claimed her son's bank account was cleared on March 7, which was the first sign of any movement from the missing tattoo artist.

She told Macomb Daily back in December: "Something is wrong; he has never disappeared or gone silent like this before.

"It is like he vanished into thin air — there has been no activity on his bank account or any of his social media and he has not used his MetroCard for public transit."

Kellie, who lives in Michigan, had been calling up hospitals and morgues in New York City in a desperate attempt to find information on her missing son.

She revealed any money from the missing GoFundMe page will be used towards his funeral and a future scholarship in his name.

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