Police: Louisville man dismembered girlfriend, brought body parts to Illinois by bus

MARKHAM, Ill. — A man is facing charges after police found a woman's remains inside her boyfriend's bags in Illinois. Those remains, police say, were transported from Louisville.

According to police, Melvin Martin Jr. went to visit his family in Markham, Illinois, with multiple bags. Markham police said the family became suspicious of the bags, and had noticed a smell.

When Martin left the house Tuesday, family members reportedly opened one of the bags. Police there said the parts they found in the bag were that of his girlfriend, who had been chopped up.

They found a head, organs and the bottom half of her body. The torso was missing, police said.

According to police, Martin had carried those bags via a Greyhound bus he took from Louisville.

On Wednesday, Louisville police said they had been contacted by Markham police.

LMPD's Dwight Mitchell said that led them to the 600 block of North Hite Street in Louisville and they later determined that a homicide had occurred there.

Markham police said the woman had been dead for at least 30 days before her transport and had been previously reported missing.

They believe her death started as a domestic assault.