“Possessions,” including a 10-inch saw and a camera bag, were worth a solid $50 to a Phoenix, Arizona, pawn shop. Apparently, the clerk didn’t mind the “human remains still stuck in the blades” of the chainsaw. Business cards with the name of the late rightful owner in the camera bag didn’t raise any red flags either.
Saw used in dismemberment
Thomas Wallace, age 58, allegedly killed his 80-year-old roommate, used a saw to hack him to pieces, then sold it to a pawnshop to get rid of the evidence and make a quick buck at the same time.
According to local reporters, the chainsaw itself had “an odor of decomposition” and “pieces of flesh, ligaments and other biological matter” stuck all over it but the pawn shop hardly noticed. That’s a scary thought, right there.
After using the saw to cut an Air Force veteran into chunks small enough to stuff in a hefty bag, Wallace “then wrapped them in linens in a Phoenix home they shared.” Then, he ignored them. Wallace pawned the chainsaw though.
Police got involved when the victim’s family became concerned that they “hadn’t heard from him for about a month.” Before Phoenix PD could even ring the doorbell, they were met with a seriously foul stench.
Once officers “forced their way into the home,” they discovered “trash bags stuffed with body parts and the victim’s decapitated head among linens.”
They knew some sort of saw had been used because “blood was reportedly splashed on walls, the ceiling and furniture.” What they didn’t find was the victim’s pickup truck. They traced that to a motel.
Ramona Gonzalez an accomplice
Police are still sorting things out but they they arrested Wallace while they do it. They also cuffed Ramona Gonzalez and took her along for the ride.
She “also lived for a time in the apartment, struggled with drug use and previously pawned off the victim’s possessions.” They aren’t sure which one pawned the saw.
In usual police fashion they aren’t sure when the victim died but from the smell and welfare report it was about a month before they discovered the remains. According to sources, Gonzalez “denied involvement in the slaying.”
She allegedly told police that her and “a friend” found “blood and the body in the home on September 30.” They didn’t tell police what they saw or anything, they just split and got a motel room.
Neighbor Ruby Lowry told the press that the victim was “a good neighbor” who would help anybody. Getting chopped up with a saw wasn’t something she would have imagined would be the way he met his end.
“It’s a sad thing to happen to him. He didn’t deserve that. I hope they get what they deserve because he would help anybody. That’s probably why he had them over there.“
