Man arrested for killing and dismembering wife before disposing of body in suitcases
An elderly man in Florida was charged with the murder of his wife two weeks after a dismembered body was found inside three suitcases.
William Lowe, 80, was arrested on Wednesday for the murder of his 78-year-old wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes.
The mysterious murder investigation began two weeks ago when police in Delray Beach, Florida discovered three suitcases floating in the city’s Intracoastal Waterway.
Inside the suitcases were the dismembered remains of an unknown woman.
‘Based on the victim’s condition, we believe the timeframe in which she was put into the water was between Monday, July 17 and the early morning hours of Thursday, July 20,’ Delray Beach Police Sgt Casey Kelly said.
Detectives initially placed her age at about 35-55. They also noted she was wearing clothing manufactured by a Brazilian brand.
Detectives were able to identify Lowe as a suspect by interviewing locals and observing him return to the scene of the crime on security camera footage.
One witness told police they saw Lowe return to the waterway 5-6 times over the course of three days and stare in the direction of the suitcases.
When she asked him what he was looking at, he said he was ‘waiting for the big boat to come into the harbor.’ However, the Intracoastal Waterway is too shallow for large boats to navigate.
Lowe told arresting officers that his wife was traveling in Brazil, and that she had been out of the country for about three weeks. He also told detectives he didn’t know the last time he spoke with his wife.
After executing a search warrant, investigators found blood in the master shower drain and a bath tub. They also discovered drag marks in the living room, hallway, and master bathroom.
Detectives found ‘numerous’ cleaning supplies throughout the house, some of which were also splattered with blood.
While they were executing the search warrant, Lowe returned to his home and tried to sneak in through a rear window. When officers quickly caught him, he claimed he was just searching for his phone and the key to a storage unit.
Officers found his phone in a desk, which also contained a 9mm handgun.
Investigators then obtained a warrant to search Lowe’s storage unit, where they found a Ryobi chainsaw covered in blood. Inside the chainsaw’s housing, they found what appeared to be ‘bone matter, flesh, and human hair.’
They also found a small cooler that ‘appeared to have red marks on the cover as well as red stains in the cooler.’
Lowe was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a dead body. He is being held without bail at Palm Beach County Jail.
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