DENVER – The man arrested in connection with a homicide involving human remains found in suitcases was linked to the case for the first time by baggage claim stickers, according to a prison statement obtained by Denver7.
Benjamin Satterthwaite, 28, was charged on Tuesday with the murder of 33-year-old Joshua Lockard, whose dismembered remains were found in two suitcases on the 1700 block of the S. Java Way in Denver by city officials on December 29.
As investigators processed the scene, the police noticed a United Airlines baggage claim sticker on one of the purple suitcases labeled “Satterthwaite” and “Den”. That information eventually led authorities to the suspect who was arrested on January 8.
During the investigation, the police responded to a possible death from an overdose in Satterthwaite’s apartment on New Year’s Day. When the police arrived, they discovered a deceased person who died of a possible overdose lying next to Satterthwaite, who was unconscious and possibly experiencing an overdose episode, according to the statement.
Satterthwaite was taken to the Swedish Medical Center, where the police obtained fingerprints. Meanwhile, investigators obtained a search warrant and, inside the suspect’s home, collected evidence that included a suitcase that matched the one found at the scene and – through the use of luminol – an excessive amount of blood on a sofa in the bathroom and bathtub, court records.
Police wrote in the statement that they also retrieved a bloody saw blade from the apartment, whose surveillance video allegedly shows Satterthwaite buying from a Walmart on December 27.
The victim, Joshua Lockard, was last seen on December 26. The police spoke to a friend of Lockard, who said they dropped him off at Alameda High School around noon, after giving the victim a ride to cash a check. Witnesses told police that Lockard was battling methamphetamine addiction and was recently expelled from a rehab clinic.
The Denver Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause and form of Lockard’s death are being investigated.
One possible reason for the murder was not provided in the heavily worded statement. However, it appears that the suspect and the victim knew each other and Lockard had stayed at Satterthwaite’s South Federal apartment at some point.
Satterthwaite faces a first-degree murder charge and an accusation of tampering with a deceased human body.