DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Delray Beach man remains in jail Friday accused of killing his wife, dismembering her body, placing her remains in three suitcases and then tossing them into the Intracoastal Waterway.
According to police, William Lowe, 78, is responsible for killing his wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes, 80.
WPTV spoke to a pool company owner, whose co-worker found one of the suitcases with the woman's remains.
Jacob Grozier, the owner of Swordfish Pool Care, said one of his pool technicians called him two weeks ago after he discovered a suitcase containing human remains. He said he was servicing a pool at the time.
"I thought he was messing with me, and I heard the shock in his voice a little bit, and happened to be two blocks away," he said. "It was low tide, so it was hung up on the rocks … kind of like a carry-on suitcase, completely covered in flies with the most terrible smell."
Grozier said they used a pool pole to push the zipper open to get a closer look.
"Honestly, [it] felt like I got punched in the stomach for a moment," he said. "I've never seen anything like that."
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Grozier said he called 911 to report the luggage.
"First thing that pops into your mind with a chopped-up body … cartel. Is this like a drug hit or some crazy murder?" he said. "And then when the police officer says, 'It's the second one. We don't know if there are multiple bodies.' Is it a serial killer?"
According to the probable cause affidavit, witnesses told detectives they saw a man looking in the water about five to six times over a three-day period. It states they told police it appeared he was looking in a suitcase in the water, and he was asked what he was doing. He replied that he was waiting for a big boat to come into the harbor.
Meanwhile, outside the courtroom Thursday, Lowe's attorneys hinted at what's next.
"Mr. Lowe is entering a plea of not guilty," defense attorney Marc Shiner said Thursday. "The next step is after he gets charged officially, which is probably 30 days, we'll get a copy of discovery. We will do our own investigation, which we have started, and see if these charges are merited or meritless and look to protect his rights, and Mr. Lowe is looking forward to his day in court."
Despite Lowe's arrest, Groggier said he's still trying to make sense of it all.
"It's something that is right out of [the Showtime television show] 'Dexter,'" he said. "Body parts floating in the Florida ocean or Intracoastal [Waterwasy]. It's honestly disbelief."