Police are working to piece together a bizarre set of events that led to a disturbing discovery at a Northwest Dallas apartment complex. They found a man's body in the freezer that may have been there for nearly a year.
Some people living at Granada Apartments off Nogales Dr. in Dallas saw officers swarm unit 217 earlier this month, but they're only now learning why.
"Oh Lord, just thinking about it, it just makes me nervous," said Maricella Garcia.
The man who lived there, Marcelino Menchaca, Jr. is in Dallas County jail, charged with abuse of a corpse.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, he was hiding a severed man's body in his freezer, along with a debit card belonging to a missing Geoffrey Lyman Lea.
This all came to light on September 13, when Menchaca Jr. was taken to Parkland hospital after trying to commit suicide. He was evicted that same day and staff reportedly made the gruesome discovery while cleaning up his unit.
According to the affadavit, the 56-year-old admitted to finding a man he called "Jeff" inside a motel room at budget suites last November. Police said Menchaca Jr. then dismembered his body using a saw and took it back to his own apartment for storage.
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How Lea died and why is still a mystery, but it turns out his family hadn't heard from him since last September. His sister even filed an application to "declare him dead" this past summer.
According to it, and a recent obituary, Lea, a former real estate developer, was a father of two and a husband.
As police continue to dig into the mystery involving Menchaca Jr., those living at Granada Apartments are left with an uneasy feeling.
"You never know who you know, don't know," Garcia said.
Police said they found a key to the motel room and they said the suspect admitted to using the victim's debit card for several months.
Menchaca Jr. is still in custody with bail set at $25,000.
