Missing janitor’s dismembered remains found in Michigan river

BAY CITY, Mich. (TCN) — A suspect is in custody after a missing 41-year-old man’s dismembered remains were located in a river and another part of the city.

According to Bay City Police, Justie Stilwell’s family reported him missing on Sept. 18 after finding his car at a local park. Bay City Police worked with local, state, and national law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and Michigan State Police, to search for Stilwell. That same day, officials reportedly found two arms and two legs on the banks of the Saginaw River. Investigators managed to positively identify the remains as Stilwell’s using fingerprints.

In an update, Bay City Police said investigators executed a search warrant at an address on Elm Street and arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with Stilwell’s death. Additional human remains were later found in Bay City.

MLive.com identified the suspect as Robert Tweedly, who was also known under the alias of Justin Powell, and said he is being charged with open murder and disinterment or mutilation of a dead body.

According to MLive.com, Stilwell’s family became worried when he failed to show up for work as a janitor at a local middle school for several days.

On Sept. 18, a teen walking by the river reportedly saw the body parts and called her grandfather, who contacted police. The grandfather told MLive.com he thought it was “some kind of prank” because Halloween is coming up.

“I went down there and it initially looked like a doll’s foot,” he said.

MLive.com reports police discovered Stilwell’s head and torso at the second location.

Tweedly was booked into the Bay County Jail with bond set at $1 million.

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