A man has been arrested in Arizona after a headless body was discovered stuffed in a closet inside a Phoenix apartment. The gruesome find has been described by police as brutal and horrific.
Details of the Discovery
Phoenix Police Sergeant Robert Scherer commented on the severity of the incident, stating, "This is brutal. This is awful. This is, you know, a word almost doesn't, it's not good enough to really describe this."
Christopher Ebanks, 32, was taken into custody in connection with the alleged crime, which unfolded last week. According to court documents obtained by AZFamily, officers responded to reports of a possible homicide around 9 p.m. on May 7.
Upon arrival at the apartment, officers detected a strong odor of bleach and other chemicals emanating from inside. They discovered various cleaning supplies scattered throughout, including bleach bottles, wet blankets, and what appeared to be red substances, the outlet reported.
Authorities stated that the body found appeared to be dismembered, missing its head and hands. The corpse was wrapped in carpet and an air mattress, and was bound with an extension cord, according to the documents.
Witness Account and Arrest
According to AZFamily, detectives were contacted by the father of a woman who claimed that her boyfriend had been killed by his associate, referred to as "Draco," but later identified as Ebanks. The three individuals were reportedly drinking at the apartment before an argument broke out between the two men, Fox10 reported. Ebanks then allegedly produced a hatchet, court documents stated.
The woman claimed she witnessed Ebanks stab her boyfriend multiple times, after which he said, "we need to clean this up," as per court documents cited by AZFamily. He then placed the victim's head and hands into a suitcase and ordered the woman to drive him to his own apartment, where she was forced to shower at knife or gunpoint to destroy evidence of the alleged killing, authorities said.
"Our detectives are extremely confident that this individual is a victim and extremely confident that anything that they may have done throughout this whole scenario was in duress," Scherer said.
Charges and Court Appearance
Following his arrest, Ebanks was charged with crimes including murder and kidnapping. He is being held on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, May 14.
