LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville man is accused of carrying parts of a woman he murdered in a suitcase to his family's home in the Chicago area.
LMPD confirmed a man was being held in Illinois as part of a homicide investigation in Louisville. Homicide investigators said they were contacted on Tuesday by the Markham Police Department after a man's family found body parts in his suitcase.
Family members told officers they opened the suitcase after he left and a human body part fell out. The family said 30-year-old Melvin Martin Jr. had never unpacked his bags and kept guarding them after a few days at home.
"There were some early reports of a foul odor coming from the bags," Markham Chief Terry White said. "A human body part was discovered...they immediately back away and called police."
Responding officers confirmed they found several chopped-up body parts of one woman. Investigators believed the crime happened in Kentucky and then notified LMPD.
Detectives with LMPD followed up on the information and went to the 600 block of N. Hite St. White said LMPD then found the woman's torso nearby in Bingham Park.
Markham police said Martin told them it was his girlfriend and the murder started as a domestic assault. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified the woman as 31-year-old Ladawndra Ellington.
Martin has eight previous felony arrests, including multiple domestic violence cases. Ellington filed an order for emergency protection from Martin on May 25, 2020.