Bahsid McLean is a Bronx man who murdered his mother, Tanya Byrd, in February 2013, dismembered her body with a power saw, and photographed himself holding her severed head. A Bronx jury rejected his insanity defense in November 2016, and he was sentenced the following month to 25 years to life in prison.
The Killing of Tanya Byrd
Tanya Byrd was a 45-year-old home health aide and mother of three, including a young son with Down syndrome. She shared a Morrisania apartment with McLean, who was 23.1CBS News. Tanya Byrd Murder Case: Son Appears in Court Wearing Trash Bag
On the evening of February 25, 2013, surveillance footage captured McLean and a friend, 26-year-old William Harris, buying a power saw and trash bags at a Bronx hardware store around 7:30 p.m.2KOMO News. NY Dismemberment Suspect Wears Trash Bag in Court1CBS News. Tanya Byrd Murder Case: Son Appears in Court Wearing Trash Bag3NBC News. Bronx Man Accused of Cutting Up Mom With Saw Tells Court He Was Forced Investigators later found blood throughout the home and signs the space had been cleaned with bleach.
The Photograph With His Mother’s Severed Head
What drove the case into national coverage was a photograph found on McLean’s cellphone. Investigators said he had posed in front of a bathroom mirror holding his mother’s severed head under his arm “like a trophy,” smirking at the camera.4CBS News. Tanya Byrd Update: Bronx Murder Suspect Took Photo With Severed Head of His Mother The image gave the case the “severed head selfie” label it carried through trial.
Discovery of the Remains and Arrest
On February 26, 2013, a man walking his dog in Melrose found a duffel bag holding two hands and part of an arm in a pile of trash. Police soon located three more bags nearby containing a torso, legs, a foot, and Byrd’s head.5The New York Times. Body Parts of Bronx Woman Found in Bags on Street That same day, McLean walked into a police precinct to report his mother missing, which led officers back to the apartment, the power saw, and the smell of bleach.6DNAinfo New York. Man Charged With Chopping Up Mom Planned Killing, Says Victim’s Sister
McLean was arrested on February 27, 2013, arraigned the next day, and ordered held without bail on suicide watch and psychiatric evaluation.7CBS News. Bronx Man Accused of Killing, Dismembering Mother Arraigned on Murder Charges Harris was charged with hindering prosecution and unlawful dissection of a human body.8The New York Times. Charges Tie Son and Second Man to Mother’s Dismembered Body Each man told investigators the other was the killer. McLean said he came back from an ATM to find Harris had already stabbed his mother and was threatening him and his six-year-old brother; Harris said McLean admitted the killing, showed him a photo of the body, and asked for help disposing of the remains.3NBC News. Bronx Man Accused of Cutting Up Mom With Saw Tells Court He Was Forced Byrd’s sister publicly rejected McLean’s account, telling reporters the killing was planned and citing a social media post in which McLean had written “Tanya must die.”6DNAinfo New York. Man Charged With Chopping Up Mom Planned Killing, Says Victim’s Sister
The Insanity Defense and Conviction
A grand jury indicted McLean in March 2013 on charges of second-degree murder, unlawful dissection of a human body, and hindering prosecution.9DNAinfo New York. Son Accused of Murdering, Hacking Up His Mom Indicted by Grand Jury10PIX11. Bronx Man Who Dismembered His Mother, Took Selfie With Head Gets 25 Years in Prison11New York Daily News. Wife of Bronx Schizophrenic Accused of Chopping Up Mother Says He Was a Good Husband and Father
Trial began in Bronx Supreme Court in October 2016 before Justice Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick. The defense argued McLean was mentally ill and could not tell right from wrong; prosecutors from Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark’s office argued the killing was deliberate.12BronxInk. Insanity Pleaded in Severed Head Selfie Murder Case After nearly a month of trial, the jury rejected the insanity defense. On November 4, 2016, it convicted McLean of second-degree murder and of unlawful dissection of a human body under New York Public Health Law 4210-A.13Bronx District Attorney’s Office. Bahsid McLean Convicted
Sentence
On December 5, 2016, Justice Rodriguez-Morick sentenced McLean to 25 years to life for the murder, plus a consecutive term of one and one-third to four years for the unlawful dissection count. In a statement, District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant fatally stabbed his mother and then chillingly took photos with her mutilated corpse. A jury found him guilty of murder for these horrific acts and now he will serve the maximum sentence in prison.”14Bronx District Attorney’s Office. Bahsid McLean Sentencing
Rikers Island Attack on a Correction Officer
Nine days after sentencing, on December 14, 2016, McLean attacked Correction Officer Matthew Hines inside the West Facility at Rikers Island. Officials described the assault as unprovoked. McLean used a scalpel to slash Hines above the left eye and beat him, leaving a fractured nose, a fractured skull, and wounds that required staples and stitches.15PIX11. Correction Officer Beaten and Slashed by Convicted Killer Inside Rikers Island16DNAinfo New York. Selfie Severed Head Killer Brutally Beats Rikers Guard Hines, a four-year veteran, had been transferred into the high-security unit one week earlier and had told his captain he was not properly trained for the assignment; he was not carrying a baton or pepper spray.
In May 2017, a grand jury indicted McLean on attempted assault charges over the attack. Clark said her office would seek the maximum of 15 years, to run consecutively with his 25-to-life term.17New York Daily News. Bronx Killer Who Took Selfie With Mom’s Head Indicted for Stabbing Correction Officer At the time of the Hines attack, McLean also had a separate pending assault case for slashing another inmate at Rikers.
Appeal
McLean appealed his murder conviction. In April 2021, the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, granted his motion to prosecute the appeal as a poor person and assigned Janet E. Sabel of the Legal Aid Society as appellate counsel. The court ordered production of trial, plea, and sentencing transcripts, along with records of pretrial motions to dismiss the indictment, motions to suppress evidence, and competency proceedings, and gave him 180 days from receipt of the complete record to perfect the appeal.18New York State Courts. People v. Bashid McLean, Motion No. 2021-00859 No published decision on the merits has been identified in the available research.