A Florida man has been taken into custody after his wife's dismembered body was discovered in three suitcases at different locations in a Delray Beach canal.
William Lowe, 78, has been charged with first-degree murder and abusing a dead body in connection with the killing of his 80-year-old wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes. The victim was identified through dental records.
The remains were found on July 21 after the Delray Beach police received a 911 call reporting a suitcase floating in the Intracoastal Waterway with a foot protruding through the zipper. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, the suitcase contained a set of human legs. The Intracoastal Waterway, known for its multimillion-dollar homes with private docks, runs parallel to Florida's Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
Later that same day, two more suitcases were discovered within a mile of the first one. One of the suitcases contained a human torso without hands or a head, which was weighted down with landscaping rocks. The third suitcase contained a pelvis and a plastic Cheesecake Factory bag, also filled with rocks.
The following day, investigators made another gruesome discovery during a search of the waterway. They found a tote bag containing a woman's head with a single gunshot wound behind her ear. The Delray Beach Police Department held a press conference, releasing a computer-generated image of the victim based on her remains and asking for the public's help in identifying her.
A witness came forward and informed detectives that a man had been visiting the area multiple times over a three-day period leading up to the discovery of the suitcases. The witness recalled the man staring at a suitcase floating in the water. When approached, the man appeared nervous and claimed to be waiting for a large boat to come into the harbor. However, the witness noted that the canal was too shallow for large vessels.
Investigators interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, many of whom had seen the same man in the area driving a gold Ford Taurus and behaving suspiciously. Some neighbors provided surveillance footage, including a video of the man climbing down a resident's dock ladder on July 20 while carrying a Cheesecake Factory bag.
Detectives located a gold Ford Taurus near the waterway and ran the vehicle's license plate. The car was registered to William Lowe, who resides just 0.1 mile from where one of the suitcases was found. Police brought Lowe to the station to obtain a DNA sample. During questioning, Lowe claimed that his wife was in Brazil and had been there for three weeks. However, he could not provide details about her travel arrangements or the airline she used.
On July 31, police executed a search warrant at Lowe's residence and discovered blood in every room of the house, as well as cleaning supplies and a 9mm gun in a desk drawer. During the 18-hour search, Lowe was apprehended while attempting to enter the home through a window. He stated that he was trying to retrieve his phone and the keys to his storage unit, which alerted investigators to another potential location to search.
On August 2, a warrant was executed at Security Storage of Delray, where police found a Ryobi chainsaw with apparent blood on the blade, as well as bone matter, flesh, and human hair in the housing of the saw. Lowe was arrested later that night.
Lead Detective Mike Liberta described the scene at Lowe's home as "probably the worst I've seen because he dismembered a body." At present, no lawyer has been identified as representing Lowe. He is currently being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Detention Center.
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