Husband killed wife and stuffed dismembered remains in 3 suitcases
William Lowe, 78, is arrested for shooting dead his wife, 80, dismembering her and stuffing her remains in three suitcases that were found floating in Delray Beach, Florida
- Lowe was charged with the murder of his wife Aydil Barbosa Fontes
- Her remains were found in Florida waterways on July 21
- Investigators tied the suitcase to Lowe after finding blood on a dock, talking to witnesses, and reviewing surveillance footage
A man has been arrested after he allegedly shot dead his 80-year-old wife and placed her dismembered remains in three suitcases before dropping them in a Florida waterway.
William Lowe, 78, was charged with the murder of Aydil Barbosa Fontes in Delray Beach on Wednesday – nearly three weeks after her remains were discovered floating inside the suitcases in the Intracoastal Waterway on July 21.
A medical examiner said she died by a gunshot to the head.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office stated they received a call about a suspicious package shortly before 11am, when people who were feeding animals on a property while their owners were out of town noticed luggage on the lawn.
The first suitcase found by police had a ‘human foot protruding through the zipper,’ according to court documents.
William Lowe, 78, was charged with the murder of his wife Aydil Barbosa Fontes in Delray Beach on Wednesday
Barbosa Fontes was identified through dental records. Police have released a sketch of what she may have looked like – they say she was either white or Hispanic, and could have had tattooed eyebrows
Police say Fontes’ partial remains were discovered in a purple Palm Springs Ricardo Beverly Hills bag (pictured), and a green and black polka dot Charlie Sport bag
There were also ‘human legs’ and ‘several small landscaping rocks’ found inside.
The suitcase had an airline sticker that read ‘Barbosa’ on the outside, per police.
‘There wasn’t really a whole lot of effort to hide the body, other than it was inside a suitcase,’ said Sheriff Javier Salazar.
A second suitcase contained Barbosa Fontes’ torso, with the head and hands missing. Small landscaping rocks were also found inside.
The third suitcase contained her pelvis and more landscaping rocks.
Barbosa Fontes’ head was found a day later inside a tote bag tied shut with twine in the water. A purse similarly tied with twine was found nearby with an ashtray inside. Officials have suggested the ashtray could have served as a weight.
The head showed a ‘single gunshot wound behind the woman’s ear with an exit wound behind the opposite ear.’
Barbosa Fontes was identified through dental records. Police have released a sketch of what she may have looked like – they say she was either white or Hispanic, and may have had tattooed eyebrows.
She was found wearing a floral top made by a Brazilian company called Betzabe.
Unable to find additional information, police released the sketch and pictures of her clothes and the suitcases.
A witness reportedly told police that a white man in his 50s or 60s had been looking at the suitcase in the water ‘approximately 5-6 times over a three-day period.’
Another said they had seen a man using a metal pole to push something in the waterway.
Investigators tied the suitcase to Lowe after finding blood on a metal dock ladder near where the third suitcase was found.
The green and black polka dot Charlie Sport bag where her remains were partly found is pictured above
A witness reportedly told police a man in his 50s or 60s had been looking at the suitcase in the water ‘approximately 5-6 times over a three-day period’
According to Lowe’s arrest report, he was seen on surveillance footage climbing down the dock ladder early in the morning of July 20 (dock not pictured)
According to Lowe’s arrest report, he was seen on surveillance footage climbing down the dock ladder early in the morning of July 20, and then doing the same thing hours later.
On July 24, an officer reported a gold Ford Taurus in the scene that was later tied to Lowe.
He was also seen at the scene the day police found the remains, with a witness claiming he said ‘s**t,’ before leaving in his car.
Lowe, who lives 0.1 miles from where the third suitcase was found, was questioned on July 31 and said he was married to Barbosa Fontes, claiming she had been in Brazil for about three weeks.
When asked when he last spoke to his wife, he reportedly said he did not know, and claimed he had no connection to the suitcases.
Police executed a search warrant in his home the same day, and found blood ‘in the master bath shower drain as well as the tub of the second bathroom.’
They also found a handgun and ‘drag marks’ in different areas of the home, as well as ‘large amounts of blood’ and cleaning supplies – some of which with ‘contained blood spatter.’
Police say Lowe was caught trying to sneak into his apartment through a window as cops conducted the search. He claimed he wanted to get his phones and keys to his storage unit, per official records.
A neighbor and the maintenance manager in his building said two or three weeks ago they had seen a trail of a ‘soup’-like substance leading from the doorway of Lowe’s apartment to the door of his sister’s apartment one floor above his.
One neighbor said they had never seen the sister, while another claimed they hadn’t seen her in more than two years.
Police then searched a storage unit registered to Lowe on August 2 and found a ‘chainsaw that appeared to have blood on the blade, chain and housing.’
They also saw ‘what appeared to be bone matter, flesh and human hair in the housing of the saw.’
Lowe entered a not guilty plea on Thursday and is being held with no bond.
His lawyer described him as a veteran and a successful business owner when speaking to WPTV.
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