Haunting Google Avenue View pictures present handyman in yard earlier than he was decapitated and dismembered in random assault
A haunting image from Google Street View appears to show a man in a garden before he was decapitated and dismembered.
Officials found the decapitated body in the backyard of a Washington, DC home.
Washington, DC police believe the decapitated body found in the backyard was that of a handyman who was called home to workPhoto credit: Google Maps
The Google Street View photo was reportedly taken in July and shows the victim just months before he was killedPhoto credit: Google Maps
Dogs led investigators to knife evidence they believe may have been involved in the crime under the porch of a nearby homePhoto credit: fox 5
The victim was a handyman who was called to work indoors and his body is said to have been lying there for three months.
The Google Street View photo was reportedly taken in July and shows the worker just months before he was killed.
According to charges for Lavaughn Barnes, 32, dogs led investigators to knife evidence they believe involved in the crime under the porch of a nearby home.
The documents of the suspect arrested last week in connection with the discovered body learned that it is Abdulio Arias-Lopez.
Barnes lived in the house where Arias-Lopez worked, WRAL reported.
He lived in the basement, his sister and her daughter lived upstairs.
Barnes’ sister, when asked by authorities, identified the man in the Google Street View image as a handyman she’s known for five years.
She told them she last hired him in November, but as far as she knew, he never showed up for the job and stopped responding to their messages, according to WRAL.
When asked what happened when the handyman came to the house, Barnes admitted to killing Arias-Lopez in anger while he was working on the house in November.
Barnes recalled showing him paint because he wanted to paint the kitchen, according to ABC7.
As Arias-Lopez dumped the paint and walked away, Barnes tasered Arias-Lopez in the back.
The worker then asked Barnes why he was doing it, documents say.
Barnes replied that he was not in his right mind and began kicking and punching Arias-Lopez.
Before Barnes took his body to the basement, Barnes stabbed Arias-Lopez twice.
Barnes then went to an ACE hardware store to buy an ax to dismember Arias-Lopez’s body, court documents show.
Barnes was charged with second-degree armed murder.
Why Barnes was allegedly furious with the handyman remained unclear.
He told police he “passed out” when it happened.
Barnes said he panicked and recalled wondering, “What the hell did I just do?”
His sister told police he was “mentally challenged”.
He confessed to cutting off Arias-Lopez’s arms and then his head and tossing the body parts and his ID in the trash that garbage trucks took away, WRAL reported.
Barnes’ next court date is next month and he remains behind bars until then.
