Family discovers body parts, organs in visiting relative’s luggage, Kentucky cops say
A Kentucky man traveled hundreds of miles by Greyhound bus to visit family in Illinois, his bags and suitcases packed with organs and dismembered body parts of a currently unknown woman, news outlets report.
The man’s family in Markham made the grim discovery, according to police. Family told police he had been strangely protective of his luggage since arriving several days earlier, and despite bringing so much, he kept asking to borrow clothing, CBS2 reported. They became suspicious.
At one point, he left the home to visit the library. Family took the opportunity to investigate, unzipped one of the three heavy, foul-smelling bags and discovered human remains.
They immediately contacted police, the station reported.
“You see stuff like this on TV,” neighbor David Scott said. “You don’t see stuff like this from your across-the-street neighbor.”
Police arrested Melvin Martin Jr., 30, at the Markham Public Library, WLS reported. An extradition hearing will determine if he gets sent back to Louisville for prosecution.
Markham police and the Louisville police are in communication and sharing information, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
While authorities have identified the woman in the bags as a Louisville resident, they are waiting for further confirmation through dental records before releasing her name, according to WLS.
In this case, a domestic assault turned to murder, police say. Afterward, Martin cut the victim’s body into pieces, left them alone for about a month, then packed them into bags and caught a bus to Illinois.
He couldn’t bring everything with him, WLS reported. Martin left her upper torso at a park, close to where he and the victim lived together. Police found it after he told them where to look.
Following Martin’s arrest, Louisville police have launched an investigation, aided by information from the Markham Police Department, the Courier-Journal reports.
Louisville law enforcement has since tracked down an address where they believe a murder occurred, the outlet reported.
