William Lowe Jr. accused of killing wife, tossing five bags of her dismembered remains into ocean: cops

A 78-year-old Florida man was arrested after he allegedly shot his wife, dismembered her with a chainsaw and stuffed her remains into five bags that he tossed into the ocean.

William Lowe Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a human body in connection to the brutal death of 80-year-old Aydil Barbosa Fontes, his wife of 15 years, Delray Beach Police announced Thursday.

Officers had been hunting down the suspected killer since they found the first of five large bags containing body parts of a woman last month in the city’s Intracoastal Waterway.

A bystander called police July 21 after spotting the first suitcase with a “human foot protruding through the zipper,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The suitcase, which contained Barbosa Fontes’ legs and several landscaping rocks, was also marked with an airline sticker that read “Barbosa,” but police were unable to immediately identify who she was.

Two other suitcases containing the woman’s torso and pelvis, as well as rocks and barnacles were found within the next few hours — and only 0.1 miles away from the home Lowe and Barbosa Fontes shared, the police documents state.

The next day, investigators found Barbosa Fontes’ head stuffed inside a tote bag secured with a man’s belt and her ditched purse with a “decomposition odor.”

The 80-year-old woman was fatally shot to the head, police said.

Lowe has neither admitted nor denied killing his wife, but allegedly told investigators in the days before his arrest that she had traveled to Brazil three weeks earlier.

Police zeroed in on the elderly Floridian after tracking down several surveillance videos of him acting suspiciously and climbing into the water at the scenes where the bags were found, police said.

Multiple witnesses told cops they noticed a nervous man fitting Lowe’s description making frequent visits to the areas where the suitcases were discovered — including at times after the bags had washed back onto the shore.

Three men working on a roof near where Barbosa Fontes’ pelvis was found said they watched Lowe drive up to the area, get out of his car and climb on the seawall to get a good view of the suitcase.

“S–t,” Lowe allegedly said before getting back in his car and peeling away.

Witnesses claimed to see Lowe visit the area at least five times over a three-day period and the accused killer also allegedly stalked police on at least one occasion as they scoured the crime scene.

Police executed a search of his condo Monday, where they allegedly and blood splatter in six rooms.

“Drag marks were observed in the living room, hallway and master bedroom,” the affidavit reads.

“Large amounts of blood were found in the living room, dining room and master bathroom. Cleaning supplies were found throughout the residence, some containing blood spatter.”

Lowe is accused of trying to sneak into his condo through a window while police were inside, claiming he needed to recover his wallet and keys from a desk where cops later found a 9mm gun.

Investigators also found trace amounts of blood in the condo above Lowe’s, which belongs to but hasn’t been used by his sister for three years.

An upstairs neighbor told detectives she noticed a trail of “soup” leading from the doorway of Lowe’s apartment, up the stairs and to the door of the sister’s apartment earlier in July — around the same timeframe Lowe allegedly told police his wife had flown to Brazil — but that the property manager later cleaned it up with a “409” cleaning agent, police allege.

Lowe left flowers in front of the neighbor’s door in the weeks before and after he allegedly killed Barbosa Fontes.

Investigators later found a chainsaw — containing pieces of flash, bone, blood and hair — tucked away inside a nearby storage unit belonging to Lowe.

Police have not revealed a motive for the savage killing, but said they are “very certain” Lowe is responsible.

They are also unsure when Barbosa Fontes was killed.

Lowe pleaded not guilty and is being held in Palm Beach County Jail without bond.