Authorities Friday removed a litany of exotic pets from the Northeast Philadelphia home of a man whose dismembered body was found stuffed in a trash bag inside a U-Haul truck the day prior.
Members of the ACCT Philly rescue group could be seen removing several parrots, including African grays, as well as box tortoises, bearded geckos and other animals from the home in the city’s Somerton section. Authorities said the animals would be given to rescue groups and are not up for adoption.
Neighbors told NBC10 the victim, who has not yet been identified, was a kind man who raised bees and sold honey and gave odd jobs to young men to help them out.
"He raises bees. He has animals in the house. He's never given anyone any trouble,” neighbor Threse Pelbano said.
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But police said that man was the victim of a grisly murder.
Sources told NBC10 someone called police Wednesday because they were worried about him. Officers didn’t find him in his home on Sanibel Street but left after being told by a neighbor that he often travelled.
However, police said the same neighbor called them Thursday morning to report a suspicious U-Haul truck near the home. Officers stopped the truck and checked the back, where they found the bag full of body parts, as well as a weapon, investigators said.
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A source with knowledge of the investigation said police discovered more body parts in the dumpster of a Wawa store a few blocks away later that same night.
The driver and the passenger of the U-Haul were taken into custody, but no charges have been announced as police continue their investigation.
