Police in Colorado have arrested a man on suspicion of murder after he was caught with a woman’s severed hand in his jacket pocket.
Investigators believe the hand belongs to a dead woman who was found decapitated.
Officers apprehended the suspect in the case, 26-year-old Solomon Martinez, in Pueblo.
Martinez was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, the National Desk reported Thursday.
In a social media post on January 11, the Pueblo Police Department shared more details in the case, saying officers responded to Fountain Creek the afternoon of January 10 to investigate a report of a homicide:
Upon arrival, Officers located an adult female in the Fountain Creek.
The female was determined to be deceased.
Pueblo Police crimes against persons detectives and crime scene investigations units are investigating this death as a homicide investigation.
The victim in this incident will be identified by the Pueblo County Coroner after appropriate notifications.
The Coroner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death.
Pueblo Police arrested 26-year-old, Solomon Martinez for 1st Degree Murder in this investigation.
This is the 4th homicide in the City of Pueblo for 2024.
The investigation is ongoing, nothing further at this time.
Once officials got a tip that Martinez allegedly dismembered a woman and dumped her body in the creek, they went to his workplace to make contact with him, the Desk report said.
KRDO reported that the suspect works as a security guard at the Sangre De Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo.
The outlet said court papers showed Martinez told officers “he hired the woman as a prostitute the night before.”
The man allegedly tried to get help from his roommate to dispose of the victim’s body.
The roommate, identified as Joshua Mazzurco, told KRDO the suspect asked him if he wanted to absolve some debt by digging a ten-foot hole.
Mazzurco claimed he refused to help.
However, he reportedly watched as the suspect washed blood off his hands when they went to a car wash.
“I was terrified,” Mazzurco said.
“I was beyond terrified.
“Like, I can’t even put into words how physically scared I was.”
An image shows the car was involved in the case:
Colorado security guard caught carrying severed hand inside coat pocket while on job https://t.co/HqHKJ9ZDjR pic.twitter.com/I2ojm79iQy
— New York Post (@nypost) January 19, 2024
According to the Desk, a witness who tipped off police to the dismembered body provided a video clip of the victim surrounded by blood.
The witness “claimed Martinez threatened him at gunpoint to help dispose of the corpse,” the article said.
Officials reportedly found bloodstains on the suspect’s car.
However, he accused the witness of killing the victim.
In addition, “The suspect claimed he originally met her to engage in prostitution, and after she demanded payment, he dropped her off,” the Desk report stated.
During the police investigation, officers noticed the suspect’s hands and wrists had been cut up but he claimed the wounds were caused by his chihuahua.
In December, the Hill reported that research showed Pueblo ranked number 11 on the list of cities with the highest cost of crime per capita.
Social media users commented on the Pueblo Police Department’s post about the crime there.
One person wrote, “Pueblo isn’t safe anymore.”
Another user replied, “This is just sick, like really sick.”
