55-Year-Old Fort Wayne Man Brutally Murdered And Dismembered In Storage Unit, Court Docs Say

A 55-year-man from Fort Wayne, who had gone missing last week, was brutally murdered before being dismembered in a storage unit, court documents have revealed.

A silver alert was issued for Shane Nguyen after he went missing on April 23. His body parts were found in trash bags inside a black van two days later, reported local news outlet Wane 15.

Police arrested Mathew Cramer, 21, and Jacob Carreon-Hamilton, 20, Monday in connection with the incident.

A Fort Wayne police officer spotted a "suspicious vehicle" Sunday, a probable cause affidavit released Tuesday indicated. However, the vehicle sped away when he approached it. The van was found to be registered in the name of Nguyen, who had already been missing for two days.

Although officers tried to chase the van, it sped off and the police dropped the chase. Later, the vehicle was found to have crashed into the backyard of a home off Forest Park Boulevard. The driver had fled the scene.

Further search revealed the dismembered body of Nguyen inside the van. According to an autopsy, he died of blunt force trauma to the head. The Allen County Coroner's Office ruled his death a homicide.

Police also recovered receipts from Goshen stores that listed items including tarps, a hacksaw, hacksaw blades, a plastic tub, two shovels and a large knife from the vehicle, the affidavit read. Police then visited a store in Goshen and found the video of three men purchasing the items indicated in the receipts, Fort Wayne's NBC said in a report.

A witness identified Jacob Carreon-Hamilton from the video. Police identified the third male as Cody Clements.

Police found a photo of Cramer on social media, showing him at a storage facility in Fort Wayne. CCTV footage showed Carreon-Hamilton driving the van with Cramer inside around 11 p.m. on April 24.

A search at the storage facility revealed a tarp with blood on it and a large knife, along with items belonging to Nguyen.

After the arrest, Cramer admitted to police that he had asked the victim for a ride from Elkhart to Fort Wayne. Cramer said he had planned to kill Nguyen before reaching Fort Wayne.

As per the plan, he took Nguyen to a storage unit where he put the victim in a chokehold until he passed out. He then pulled him out of the van and slammed his head on the concrete floor before taking him inside the unit. He stole Nguyen's money and brought the items from Goshen to "get rid of the body."

According to Cramer, he and Carreon-Hamilton had just dropped off Clements when they came back to Fort Wayne with the van and the police chase started.

When police talked to Carreon-Hamilton, he claimed that he had not been aware of the situation until Cramer had brought him to the storage unit.

He then stayed in the van while Cramer "did whatever he did" inside the storage unit, the affidavit said as per Fort Wayne's NBC.

Cramer is currently charged with murder, resisting law enforcement and abuse of a corpse while Carreon-Hamilton faces charges of resisting law enforcement, assisting a criminal and abuse of a corpse.