DENVER – The man arrested in connection with a murder of human remains discovered in suitcases was first linked to the case by the baggage claim stickers, according to a statement arrested by Denver7 is.
Benjamin Satterthwaite, 28, was charged Tuesday with the murder of 33-year-old Joshua Lockard, whose decomposed remains were found on December 29 in two suitcases on S. Java Way in Denver in 1700.
While investigators processed the scene, police noticed a United Airlines sticker on one of the purple suitcases named ‘Satterthwaite’ and ‘Den’. This information eventually led the authorities to the suspect who was arrested on January 8th.
During the investigation, police responded on New Year’s Day to a possible overdose of deaths in Satterthwaite’s apartment. When officers arrived there, they discovered a deceased who had died from 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 police obtained fingerprints. Meanwhile, investigators obtained a warrant and collected evidence inside the suspect’s home containing a suitcase similar to the one found at the scene, and – using luminol – an excessive amount of blood on a bench in the bathroom and in the bath, read the court reports.
Police wrote in the affidavit that they also found a bloody saw blade from the apartment, which according to the surveillance video apparently bought Satterthwaite at a Walmart on December 27th.
The victim, Joshua Lockard, was last seen on December 26. Police spoke to a friend of Lockard’s who told them they dropped him off at Alameda High School around noon after giving the victim a ride to pay a check. Witnesses told police that Lockard was struggling with an addiction to meth and that he was recently kicked out of a rehab center.
The Denver office of the medical examiner said the cause and manner of Lockard’s death was pending investigation.
A possible motive for the murder was not given in the affidavit. However, it appears that the suspect and the victim knew each other and that Lockard lived in Satterthwaite’s South Federal apartment at one point.
Satterthwaite faces one charge of first-degree murder and one tampering with a deceased human body.