DC Man Allegedly Decapitated Handyman; Decomposed Body Found In Plastic Bag At Sister's Home

A man in Washington D.C. admitted to cutting off the head and arms of a handyman who was helping with renovations before disposing of the remains in his sister's property, according to court documents and reports.

Northeast Washington resident Lavaughn Barnes, 32, is facing a second-degree murder charge for the death of Abdulio Arias-Lopez.

Authorities found Arias-Lopez's remains inside a plastic trash bag while responding to a report of a partially decomposed, decapitated body found in the backyard of a Kearny Street home owned by Barnes' sister on Feb. 3.

The body had a gunshot wound, investigators said, according to a report by Fox News.

Barnes, who lived in the property's basement, initially claimed he only discovered Arias-Lopez's remains, but he later came forward about the killing.

Arias-Lopez was doing work for Barnes at the residence when the latter struck the handyman in the back with a taser, 7 News reported.

Barnes then stabbed Arias-Lopez twice and took the body to the basement before going to an ACE Hardware store to purchase an axe to dismember the victim, according to court documents.

He became angry for unknown reasons, court documents showed.

Barnes told detectives that he put Arias-Lopez's head, arms and personal documents in a trash bag that was picked up by the city and taken to a landfill, according to a report by The Washington Post.

Authorities discovered the rest of Arias-Lopez's remains when they responded to the property.

Arias-Lopez's remains were left untouched since last November based on the growth of the bamboo around the plastic bag that contained his body parts, according to court documents.

Authorities found a machete, a large fixed-blade knife, four folding knives, brass knuckles, a stun gun, a drain lid, kitchen knives and cleaning agents at the house.

Police charged Barnes with first-degree murder, but prosecutors later changed that to second-degree murder.

During a Thursday hearing in Washington, D.C.'s Superior Court, Barnes' defense attorney, Anthony Matthews, argued that police had no "probable cause" to charge his client.

Matthews reportedly questioned the reliability of Barnes' statements to detectives, calling them "suspect at best."

Barnes was "mentally challenged" and "sometimes slow to respond when questioned," his sister told police.

Judge Renee Raymond has ordered Barnes detained pending a hearing scheduled for March 29.

"This appears incredibly random... The extra step of beheading the decedent and removing his limbs – for no reason that Mr. Barnes can himself point to – scream out that there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community," Raymond said.

Police have not reached Arias-Lopez's relatives yet, according to reports.