Man Kills, Dismembers Roommate With Chainsaw, Stuffs The Remains In Two Trash Bags

Two suspects were arrested after a man was allegedly killed and dismembered with a chainsaw and his stuffed remains were discovered in two trash bags in Phoenix.

Officers in Phoenix conducted a welfare check at home near Indian School Road and 27th Avenue on November 1 just before 2:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a man who hadn’t contacted his family or neighbors for about a month. When the officers along with firefighters forced their way into the home, they found "a strong foul odor" inside the house, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.

The officers then searched the home and found two black trash bags in the bedroom which contained a man’s severed body parts. The neighbors told the officers that the resident was an Air Force veteran who was in his 80s. A day after the body was found, homicide investigators found blood on the living room ceiling, several walls, and furniture which appeared as if someone had tried to clean up the blood on the floor.

When detectives searched a pile of linens, they discovered the victim's head attached to his upper body that was cut off.

Following this, investigators tracked the man's missing car to a motel down the street and found the victim’s roommates, Thomas Wallace, and Romana Gonzalez. Both were taken into custody on Thursday, Nov. 3, KOLD News 13 reported.

Gonzalez said she wasn’t staying with the victim recently because of Wallace’s behavior. She was booked into jail on fraud and theft charges. Further investigation revealed that Wallace and Gonzalez had pawned some of the victim’s items last week for $50, including a camera bag with a camera and a 10-inch chainsaw hedger with a pole attachment.

When investigators confiscated and processed the chainsaw, they found a smell of decomposition on it and saw pieces of flesh and torn ligaments on the blade.

Following this, Wallace was booked into jail on one count of first-degree murder, one count of theft of means of transportation, two counts of trafficking stolen property, and one count of concealing a dead body. Wallace is being held on a $1 million cash bond.

“He was a very good neighbor. He would help anybody. It’s a sad thing to happen to him. He didn’t deserve that,” neighbor Ruby Lowry said.

“I hope they get what they deserve because he would help anybody. That’s probably why he had them over there,” she added.