Man ‘cuts intercourse offender into items’ after ‘beating him to loss of life with a baseball bat’
Lucas Sander Jones, 19, is accused of killing and dismembering Colie Lee Daniel, 28, a registered sex offender, before dumping his remains in a remote Florida area, police allege
The horrifying sequence of events unfolded on March 20(Image: Getty Images)
A 19-year-old teenager charged with carrying out a savage murder has left detectives stunned with the bone-chilling words he reportedly used to describe the killing.
Police claim Lucas Sander Jones, 19, made a graphic confession to his girlfriend following the alleged assault. “I killed somebody and cut him up,” he supposedly told her – a declaration that now forms the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case.
The horrifying sequence of events unfolded on March 20, when the girlfriend turned up at Jones’ residence in Indialantic, Florida, and encountered what officers describe as a deeply disturbing scene. Detectives claim blood was splattered across the floor and walls, there were stains covering Jones’ clothes and evidence of a clean-up attempt. Black spray paint had also been applied throughout the premises.
It was during this meeting that Jones reportedly made his chilling confession. Authorities say the victim, Colie Lee Daniel, 28, had been deliberately selected because he was a registered sex offender.
According to an updated affidavit, Jones had supposedly printed off a register of sex offenders residing in the area before the murder – indicating the assault may have been premeditated, reports the Mirror.
Daniel had previously been found guilty in 2018 of an offence concerning a minor and was recorded on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sex offender database.
Authorities allege Jones battered him with a baseball bat before cutting up the body using various tools. When Daniel didn’t come home, his parents started looking for him using a tracking function on his phone, which directed them to Jones’ address.
They apparently visited the house and were informed their son was inside but wouldn’t emerge. Worried, they contacted police, though officers were initially unable to enter the property.
By the time they came back the next day, Daniel was nowhere to be found. Police claim that after officers departed, Jones moved the remains in containers and a suitcase, subsequently disposing of them in a secluded area of Palm Bay known locally as “the Compound”.
The horrific find occurred days afterwards, when authorities were summoned to the location after vultures were spotted circling an abandoned suitcase. Inside, officers discovered human remains alongside items that connected the scene back to Jones.
Found guilty in 2018 of lewd or lascivious battery with a victim 12 to 15 years of age, Daniel was a sex offender who appears on a list of sexual offenders and predators on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website.
Jones’ girlfriend said he had supposedly printed out a list of local sex offenders before the alleged murder, according to the affidavit. It also alleges that she described how he cut up the body with a cleaver, a saw and a knife. In a significant twist, Jones’ girlfriend later altered her initial statement and offered what she termed as the “true timeline of events”.
She informed detectives that Jones had told her not to communicate with the police and alleged that the victim had already been murdered and dismembered before her arrival.
Investigators reveal she also divulged details that hadn’t yet been publicised – including claims that Jones had retained some of the victim’s blood.
Jones was initially apprehended on charges related to the disposal of human remains but was subsequently re-arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He is currently detained without bail as the case progresses through the judicial system.
