Suspect allegedly stabbed man with a hatchet, forced victim’s girlfriend to help hide the evidence

PHOENIX (TCN) – A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder after police discovered a dismembered body in his closet.

Arizona’s Family reports that on May 7, police were called to a home after receiving a report of a possible homicide. A man had called the police and said his daughter informed him a man had been killed and that the body was inside the apartment.

According to court documents obtained by the outlet, responding officers noted that the home smelled of bleach and other cleaning chemicals, and that the floor was wet. 

In addition, they saw that cleaning supplies, blankets, and blood were visible throughout. 

In a hallway closet, responding officers found dismembered remains inside a suitcase. The body was reportedly missing its head and hands and had been wrapped in carpeting and an air mattress and was secured with an extension cord. The victim’s name has not been released.

KSAZ reports Robert Scherer of the Phoenix Police Department said, “I think brutal’s a good word, but almost one that doesn’t give it enough for a case like this.”

A woman at the home spoke to police, according to Arizona’s Family, and alleged that the previous day, she and her boyfriend were arguing about money. She alleged that he invited a man called “Draco,” later identified as Christopher Ebanks, over. Her boyfriend had alleged that Ebanks could help the couple with money. 

The woman, whose name has not been released, said she witnessed her boyfriend and Ebanks get into multiple arguments. She alleged she witnessed Ebanks stab her boyfriend several times with a hatchet and Ebanks then allegedly forced her at knifepoint to help him clean up the scene and hide the body in the closet.

Arizona’s Family reports that once the woman was away from Ebanks, she called her father, who then called the police. Of the woman, Scherer said, “Our detectives are extremely confident that this individual is a victim and extremely confident that anything that they may have done throughout this whole scenario was in duress.”

Arizona’s Family reports Ebanks was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. At his first court appearance, bail was set at $1 million; Ebanks allegedly asked the judge to lower it because “a million dollars is just not doable.”

Ebanks reportedly has a lengthy criminal history and was released from prison approximately a month before the homicide. KSAZ reports that prior charges include aggravated assault and armed robbery.

KSAZ reports that Ebanks is scheduled to appear in court again on May 14.

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