PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police continue to investigate the death of a man whose dismembered remains were discovered in a trash bag Thursday in the back of a rental truck in Northeast Philadelphia.
The driver and passenger are still being interviewed by police. Police sources said a weapon was found inside the U-Haul truck.
Meanwhile, the unidentified victim leaves behind dozens of exotic animals.
Officers from the Animal Control and Care Team of Philadelphia spent several hours removing about 30 exotic birds and reptiles from the victim’s house on Sanibel Street.
ACCT spokesperson Sarah Barnett said the animals will be temporarily housed at the shelter’s North Philadelphia facility to give the next of kin the opportunity to watch over them.
“We can only imagine what they’re going through right now, so we want to make sure if they do want to reclaim the animals, they have that option if they come in the next five days,” she said. “Then after that, we will be sending them to partnering organizations so that they can go on to finding homes, but it would not be humane for us to house them at our facility long term and then adopt them out, given the number of animals we are dealing with here.”
A bunch of hissing cockroaches, tortoises, lizards and a dog were also removed from the property.
Barnett said it’s common for ACCT to work with police and remove animals from the homes of victims or apprehended individuals, but this case is unusual due to the number of animals and the special care required for them.