In a shocking and horrifying crime, a 78-year-old Florida man has been arrested for allegedly shooting his wife, dismembering her with a chainsaw, and tossing her remains into the ocean. William Lowe Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a human body in connection to the brutal death of his 80-year-old wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes. Delray Beach Police Officers had been on the hunt for the suspected killer since they found the first of five large bags containing body parts of a woman last month in the city's Intracoastal Waterway.

The investigation began on July 21, when a bystander called the police after spotting a "human foot protruding through the zipper" of a suitcase in the waterway. The suitcase contained Barbosa Fontes' legs and several landscaping rocks, and was marked with an airline sticker that read "Barbosa." However, the police were initially unable to identify the victim. Over the next few hours, additional bags containing body parts, rocks, and barnacles were discovered, only 0.1 miles away from the home Lowe and Barbosa Fontes shared.

The following day, investigators found Barbosa Fontes' head stuffed inside a tote bag secured with a man's belt, along with her abandoned purse emitting a strong decomposition odor. The medical examiner later determined that she had been fatally shot in the head. Despite Lowe's claims that his wife had traveled to Brazil three weeks earlier, police began to focus on him as a suspect after reviewing surveillance videos that showed him acting suspiciously and climbing into the water at the locations where the bags were found.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing a man fitting Lowe's description making frequent visits to the areas where the suitcases were discovered, even after they had washed back onto the shore. Three men working on a nearby roof claimed to have witnessed Lowe drive up to the area, observe the suitcase, and exclaim, "S-t," before quickly leaving the scene. Witnesses reported seeing Lowe in the area at least five times over a three-day period, and he allegedly even stalked the police as they investigated the crime scene.

The police executed a search of Lowe's condo, where they discovered blood splatter in six rooms and observed drag marks in the living room, hallway, and master bedroom. Large amounts of blood were found in the living room, dining room, and master bathroom, along with cleaning supplies containing blood spatter. While the search was underway, Lowe attempted to sneak into his condo through a window, claiming he needed to retrieve his wallet and keys from a desk. It was during this search that the police found a 9mm gun.

Investigators also found trace amounts of blood in the condo above Lowe's, which belonged to his sister but had not been used in three years. An upstairs neighbor reported seeing a trail of “soup” leading from Lowe's apartment to his sister's earlier in July, around the same time Lowe had claimed his wife had flown to Brazil. However, the property manager allegedly cleaned up the trail with a “409” cleaning agent. Lowe had also left flowers in front of his sister's door in the weeks leading up to and following the alleged murder.

In a shocking discovery, police found a chainsaw containing pieces of flesh, bone, blood, and hair tucked away in a nearby storage unit belonging to Lowe. The evidence strongly suggests that Lowe used the chainsaw to dismember his wife's body. Despite the mounting evidence against him, Lowe has neither admitted nor denied killing his wife.

Authorities have not revealed a motive for the brutal killing but are "very certain" that Lowe is responsible. They are also unsure of the exact date when Barbosa Fontes was killed. Lowe has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held without bond in Palm Beach County Jail. The investigation into this gruesome crime is ongoing, as police continue to search for a motive behind this senseless act of violence.