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‘Priceless’ Grandpa's Dismembered Body Found In Cooler And Under Tarps In 25-Year-Old Neighbor's Yard
Police in Clayton, Georgia found Christian Ponce-Martinez, 25, hiding under a couch in his home and a trail of blood that led the scattered remains of 70-year-old Robert Page.
An elderly Georgia man's body was found dismembered in his neighbor's yard, just hours after he'd been reported missing.
Robert Page, 70, was reported missing Thursday and by that night, his body was found in a yard in Clayton, Georgia which belongs to Christian Ponce-Martinez, 25, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Surveillance footage put Ponce-Martinez on Page’s property before the elderly man went missing. This led police to search the younger man’s home, according to WSB. Police have described him as combative and uncooperative.
“The officers went to the back of the residence and located the offender hiding under a couch, acting very nervous and suspicious. Officers then noticed a trail of blood. They followed it and it was Robert Page’s dismembered remains," Maj. Craig Hammer of the Clayton County Police Department said.
Page’s body parts were allegedly found spread all over Ponce-Martinez’s home.
“Part of his body was located in a cooler, and other parts of his body were located under two tarps in the backyard,” Hammer told WSB, adding that Page’s cell phone was also found in the suspect’s possession.
A motive has not been determined. Police do not think that the two men even knew each other. Ponce-Martinez moved in as the victim’s next-door neighbor from Mexico only three months ago.
As for Page, his family and friends are reeling. He had been married to his wife Lula for almost 50 years.
“He’s irreplaceable. The personality he had was priceless. Nobody will ever be able to top him,” his grandson, Bobby Austin told WSB. “He was a very (embracing) person … and to go in such a tragic way, it just hit us all really hard at the moment.”
Ponce-Martinez has been charged with malice murder and obstruction of justice. He is being held without bail. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf at this time.
[Photo: Clayton County Sheriff’s Department]