Man Brings Girlfriend's Body Parts Home To Family In Bags: Cops

MARKHAM, IL — A Kentucky man accused of killing and dismembering his girlfriend rode a Greyhound bus with some of her remains in a pair of duffle bags because he still wanted to be with her, Markham police said.

Melvin Martin, Jr., 30, had been staying with relatives in Markham since Sept. 11. During that time, his family said they noticed that he seemed unusually preoccupied with his bags. Martin has initially been charged with fleeing prosecution.

“At some point he asked his relatives for clothing, so they bought him a couple of shirts,” Michael Taylor, spokesman for the City of Markham, told Patch. “A few days later he was trying to get his relatives to buy him more pants and shirts.”

Martin’s mother dropped her son off at the Markham Public Library on Monday. Their curiosity piqued, family members thought it was great opportunity to unzip the bags, Taylor said. When they found what appeared to be human remains, they immediately called the Markham Police Department.

In a police call recording played on CBS 2 Chicago, Martin’s mother described the grisly find to a 911 dispatcher:

“Ma’am, what type of package is it? Was it in your mailbox?"

“No, I picked my son up. He’s from Kentucky. I picked him up ‘cause he was coming home. He was having a hard time, but he took his suitcase in my garage. I just took him to the library and I said, ‘let me see what’s in this suitcase.’”

Chief Terry White of the Markham Police Department said the lower half of the woman’s body had been packed into the bags, along with the woman’s head.

Louisville Metro Police Department found the woman’s torso in a park around 2 p.m. Wednesday, WAND-TV reported. Police traced the remains to a home she shared with Martin, authorities said.

Martin had boarded a Greyhound bus in Louisville with the duffle bags containing the rest of his girlfriend’s body parts, including her head, police said. Martin had apparently made efforts to conceal any foul odors.

When Markham police confirmed that the remains were human, he was arrested Monday at the Markham Public Library.

At a news conference Wednesday, White said the woman was Martin’s girlfriend, and that it appears the woman’s death was the result of a domestic dispute that occurred about a month ago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“He indicated that, as grotesque as it might sound, that he still wanted to be with at least part of her,” White said.

The Jefferson County, Ky. coroner identified the remains as Ladawndra Ellington, 31.

The FBI is working with Markham and Louisville police in the investigation. Martin is said to have a history of domestic abuse.

Taylor said Martin was turned over to Cook County Sheriff’s Police on Thursday morning. He waived extradition and is being held without bond in the Cook County Jail.