Suspect charged with murder in Denver in connection to human remains found in suitcases

One of two suitcases found containing human remains in Denver had an airline flight sticker attached to it with the name “Satterthwait” and the word “Den,” according to an arrest affidavit.

On Tuesday, the Denver District Attorney’s Office announced that it has charged Benjamin Satterthwaite, 28, with the murder of 33-year old Joshua Lockard.

“Satterthwaite is accused of killing Mr. Lockard and then dismembering his corpse,” the DA’s office said in a news release.

The two suitcases with Lockard’s remains were found on Dec. 29 in the 1700 block of South Java Way.

Satterthwaite has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of tampering with a deceased human body, the DA’s office said. He was advised of the charges in court on Tuesday morning.

Denver homicide investigators observed the suitcase sticker the day the grisly find was discovered.

The sticker was traced to a United Airline flight that landed in Denver on Dec. 21, the affidavit said. Investigators determined that Satterthwaite was contacted by police on May 18 in a traffic stop at West Florida Avenue and South Tennyson Street, which is nearby to where the suitcases were found.

On New Year’s Day, officers responded to a residence in the 2800 block of South Federal Boulevard on a medical call. Satterthwaite was found inside a room “possibly suffering from an overdose situation,” the affidavit said. His identity was unknown at that time. A deceased person, whose name is redacted from the affidavit, was also found in the residence.

Satterthwaite was taken to Swedish Medical Center in serious condition where his identity was later confirmed.

In the apartment investigators found:

• A black suitcase, similar to a black suitcase found earlier in the 1700 block of South Java Way.  
• Suspected blood on a table and chair.
• Black trash bags with cushions that contained possible blood.
• Mops and indications that the locale was recently cleaned.

Investigators also found a credit card belonging to Lockard in the apartment on South Federal Boulevard, according to the affidavit.  Also found in the apartment was a receipt from Walmart for a hacksaw and “2 piece saw blades.”

The two men, the defendant and the victim, were Facebook friends, the affidavit said.

On Friday, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner announced that the cause and manner of Lockard’s death is pending further investigation.

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