PALM BAY, Fla. – Police found human remains in an abandoned suitcase in Palm Bay’s notorious “Compound” over the weekend and a 19-year-old whose name was found inside was arrested in connection with the case.
Officers were called out to Bombardier Boulevard on Saturday with a report of vultures swarming an abandoned suitcase. The officers said they could see what was confirmed to be human remains in a partially open flap. Another suitcase with human remains inside was found a short distance away from the first one.
According to an arrest report, police found an Amazon package inside the first suitcase that was addressed to Lucas Jones, who lived in Indialantic.
When police executed a search warrant at Jones’ house, he had visible wounds and bruises and refused to participate in an interview.
However, police say his girlfriend told police that on March 20, she saw Jones try to wake up a Colie Lee Daniel, who was lying on Jones’ bed. She left to use the bathroom, and when she came back, Daniel was gone.
According to the arrest report, the girlfriend said Jones told her to take him to the Compound, where Jones discarded items in separate locations.
Daniel’s mother reported him missing on March 22, police said.
Jones was arrested on charges of tampering with evidence, abuse of a dead human body and improper disposal of human remains.
At a first appearance on Monday, a judge set bond at $7,500 and told Jones not to return to the Compound.
[WATCH: Future of ‘The Compound,’ troubled neighborhood in Palm Bay, back on table (from 2025)]
The Compound is a 2,784-acre area in the southwestern part of Palm Bay. It was supposed to be a large residential community, but the original owner went bankrupt in 1991.
Crime has long been an issue in the Compound. Several murders have either happened there or the bodies were found there, including some killings in the last few years.
City officials have been trying to find something to do with the area. There have been several proposals, including plans to turn it into a BMX racing complex, but so far, nothing has come of those plans.