A 19‑year‑old Florida man, Lucas Jones, is accused of brutally murdering a neighbor, Colie Daniel, dismembering his body, and storing the victim’s blood on microscope slides—allegedly inspired in part by the TV character Dexter.
How the killing allegedly happened
- Jones, from Indialantic, is said to have targeted Daniel, a 28‑year‑old registered sex offender who lived nearby, because he printed out a list of local sex offenders and believed Daniel was one of them.
- According to police, Jones told his girlfriend he killed Daniel with a baseball bat, then cut up the body with a cleaver, a saw, and a knife, and placed the remains in two suitcases and two large Rubbermaid totes.
Discovery of the remains
- On March 28, a suitcase containing Daniel’s dismembered remains was found in an area of Palm Bay known as the “Compound,” after vultures drew attention to it along Bombardier Boulevard.
- Daniel’s parents had reported him missing on March 22 after he told them he was going to a house about a mile away and never returned; using “Find My iPhone,” they traced his phone to Jones’ address, 420 Watson Drive.
What the girlfriend told police
- When Daniel’s parents and officers went to Jones’ home on March 20, Jones allegedly acknowledged that Daniel was inside but refused to let them in; the girlfriend later said Jones warned her not to say anything and told her, “I killed somebody and cut him up,” identifying the victim as Daniel.
- She told investigators she saw blood in the tile grout, carpets, baseboards, and walls near Jones’ bedroom, and noticed a tile cracked in the shape of a head, and that Jones later loaded suitcases and totes into her car and made multiple stops in the Compound area to drop them off.
Evidence inside the home and charges
- After the remains were found, police searched Jones’ home and found more blood, clean‑up materials (paint, rugs, trash cans, drills, plumbing traps), and microscope slides with biological matter, plus a drill bit that matched an injury on Daniel’s body. [web]
- Jones was arrested and charged with murder, abuse of a dead body, transporting a human body in unauthorized containers, and tampering with evidence; he is being held without bond and is scheduled for arraignment on April 21.
