Florida man arrested after human remains found in suitcases ‘saturated by vultures,’ cops say

A 19-year-old Florida man was arrested after suitcases containing human remains were found in Palm Bay, police said.

Lucas Jones was arrested Sunday and booked into the Brevard County Jail on charges including abuse of a dead human body, improper disposal of human remains, and tampering with evidence in a criminal proceeding, records showed.

On Saturday, Palm Bay Police officers had responded to a remote area called the “Compound” after receiving a report about a suitcase lying on the ground “saturated by vultures,” an arrest report said.

Officers found one suitcase that was lying in tall grass an emitting an odor with a flap partially open, the report said.

Human remains could be seen inside, along with personal belongings and an Amazon box addressed to Lucas at his home in Indialantic, which is northeast of Palm Bay, the report said.

A second suitcase also containing human remains was found nearby, the report said.

Investigators learned Jones was associated with a missing person report for 28-year-old Colie Lee Daniel, who’d been reported missing by his mother on March 22, the report said.

Detectives later spoke with Jones’ girlfriend, who said she saw Daniel at Jones’ home on March 20, lying on a bed appearing to be sleeping or unconscious, the report said.

She said Jones made several attempts to wake Daniel up but she said she never saw Daniel stand or regain consciousness, the report said.

The girlfriend said she went to use the bathroom and when she came back Daniel was gone, and Jones told her Daniel had left, the report said.

She said the next day, James told her to drive him to the “Compound,” where she saw Jones remove two gray tote containers and discard them in separate locations, the report said.

Jones’ girlfriend also said she didn’t recall seeing two black suitcases she’d remembered seeing in Jones’ home and believed they were also discarded at the “Compound,” the report said.

Police executed a search warrant at Jones’ home on Saturday and found Jones had “visible healed wounds and bruises on his left shoulder and the right side of his neck,” the report said.

When investigators searched Jones’ home, they found blood stains in several locations, the report said.

A kitchen knife found in one of the suitcases at the “Compound” was also the same type of knife that was found in Jones’ home, the report said.

Jones was booked into jail and released on a $7,500 bond on Sunday, records showed.

Police haven’t confirmed the identity of the remains found in the suitcases.