MARKHAM, Ill. (NewsNation Now) — A man has been arrested after family members found luggage containing his girlfriend’s dismembered remains, police said.
Melvin Martin Jr. 30, was charged Wednesday after family members he was visiting found the remains and reported them to the police.
A domestic assault ended with Martin’s girlfriend death in Louisville, Kentucky, according to Markham Police Chief Terry White. A month later, Martin brought some of her body parts with him on a visit to family members in Markham, Illinois.
Police said Martin boarded a Greyhound bus with a suitcase and bags. Neighbors said Martin kept the bags in the garage and guarded them. When he went to the library his relatives looked inside. Inside the bags were lower half remains, a human head and some organs, according to police.
The police chief said the remains belong to Martin’s 31-year-old girlfriend. Her torso was found earlier Wednesday in a park in Louisville.
Martin is now charged in Illinois as a fugitive fleeing prosecution. He will face more charges in Kentucky.
“He indicated as grotesque as it may sound, he still wanted to be with her—at least part of her,” White said.
Martin was arrested at the library and is now cooperating.
