Washington Man in Custody After Police Find Car Stuffed With Body Parts
Police in Washington state responding to a routine report of a suspicious vehicle on Thursday morning found a scene straight out of a horror movie: The car was stuffed with dismembered body parts and “flesh”-like substances, authorities said.
The 2014 Honda Accord abandoned in the small city of Othello might not have attracted much attention at all from passersby if not for one disturbing detail—it had blood smeared on the hood.
“Upon further investigation inside the vehicle was discovered a deceased subject,” a press release from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office said.
From there, things quickly went downhill when what appeared to be “flesh” was found in the backseat, along with a human head sitting on the back floorboard, court documents say.
Police soon discovered more body parts in the trunk of the vehicle. The limbs are believed to belong to two different people.
“At this time the victims have not been positively identified due to the extent of the bodies condition,” Sheriff Dale Wagner said in Friday’s press release.
A 28-year-old man identified as Mauricio Nava-Garibay is in custody on suspicion of murder after he was reportedly spotted walking away from the gruesome crime scene. He reportedly told investigators he’d gotten into an altercation with his girlfriend, Dora Martinez, in her home before luring her into a garage on the pretext of having a “present” to give her. He then stabbed her multiple times in the neck and torso, punched her in the face, and choked her with an extension cord, he told detectives, according to local news outlet KIMA-TV.
Another woman identified as Guadalupe Martinez is said to have entered the garage at this time, at which point Nava-Garibay pushed her to the concrete floor and stabbed her in the back of the neck, according to multiple reports.
No further details were available on the relation of the two women to the suspect.
“Investigations like these are very tasking and delicate. We appreciate any cooperation from our community,” Wagner said.
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
