A 77-year-old Georgia man reported missing by his wife was found dismembered in the home next door, police say.
WXIA reports Robert Page, 77, was reported missing by Lula Page, last Thursday. Police said they followed a trail of blood from the Page home in Clayton County to yard of their neighbor, Christian Ponce-Martinez, 25. There, they found parts of the 77-year-old man’s dismembered body under a tarp.
Maj. Craig Hammer with the Clayton County Police Department said parts of Page were found in a cooler inside the home as well.
Ponce-Martinez was found hiding under a couch inside the home, where he rents a room from a friend.
Officers have not determined a motive but believe some sort of argument took place outside the Page home.
Robert Page’s wife said she and her husband had been married for 49 years and he leaves behind two children and two grandchildren.
“According to his wife, he never left his residence, he always stayed at home … he got along with other residents and was always a good gentleman,” Hammer said.
Neighbors agreed Page was highly thought of.
“Very well-respected in the neighborhood,” said Nancy Jones, a friend of the Page family. “So, this is a shock for all of us that something so brutal could happen.”
Robert Page’s grandson, Bobby Austin, told WSB that his grandfather was one of the nicest, most humble, helpful people you could meet.
“He’s irreplaceable. The personality he had was priceless. Nobody will ever be able to top him,” he said. “Even if you weren’t related to him, if he saw that you were a younger nice person, he would say, ‘You’re my grandson or granddaughter’ or ‘You’re my son or daughter,’ something like that. He was a very (embracing) person … and to go in such a tragic way, it just hit us all really hard at the moment.”
Ponce-Martinez has been charged with murder and officials are working to determine if he is a legal U.S. resident.
