Kentucky Man Arrested After Relatives Found Dismembered Body Parts In His Bags

In a shocking incident, a Kentucky man traveled hundreds of miles by bus carrying two bags stuffed with dismembered human remains. Police believe the body parts belonged to the man's girlfriend.

He was arrested after a relative alerted police about the bags.

Melvin Martin Jr. took a 5-hour-long bus ride from Louisville downtown to Chicago and then to his relatives' home in Markham, Illinois. His relatives became suspicious as Martin never opened his bags during his stay in Markham and asked them for clothing, police said.

When Martin went to visit a local library, his relatives opened the bags and were shocked to find the human remains. They immediately alerted the Markham Police Department. Martin was arrested from the library.

Markham Police Chief Terry White, in a news conference Wednesday, said the body parts appeared to belong to Martin's 31-year-old unidentified girlfriend, with whom he was living in Kentucky. The victim's upper torso was found in a park near the place where Martin lived in Kentucky, ABC7Chicago reported.

"With the remains we have here, we have the advantage of dental records, and then of course there is DNA," White added. "Of course her upper torso remains in Kentucky, so the level of their forensics, I'm sure, mirrors ours, so I'm quite sure that there's going to be a positive identification about this victim."

Martin was charged as a fugitive fleeing prosecution.

White told CBS Chicago that there were "some early reports of a foul odor coming from the bags." It was not immediately clear for how many days the suitcases remained in the Markham home.

The FBI, along with the Markham and Louisville police departments, are investigating the incident.