‘I Should Have Left Earlier’: Alabama Woman Accused of Killing Her Partner, Dismembering Body with Chainsaw

Police in Alabama say a woman is behind bars after she allegedly fatally shot her partner and then dismembered him using a chainsaw while their young child was present in the home.

On Aug. 27, Benito Morales Guzman was reported missing to the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office, according to court documents obtained by WDHN-TV.

Deputies went to his home in the Fadette community, where he lived with 41-year-old Joselina Lopez, and discovered his dismembered body in a car on their property, officials said.

On Aug. 29, deputies arrested Lopez and charged her with intentional murder.

At Lopez’s Sept. 3 bond hearing, an Alabama State Bureau of Investigation detective testified that there was a “strong odor” emanating from the vehicle on the couple's property.

Deputies looked inside the car and spotted a chainsaw and Guzman’s dismembered body, which had been placed in trash bags in the back seat, according to the detective.

Court records obtained by AL.com show the chainsaw found inside the vehicle still had human flesh on it.

Detectives searched the Guzman and Lopez's home and located a gun, hatchet, knives, chainsaws and receipts for the tools, authorities said.

Officials believe Guzman was shot several times before being dismembered.

Investigators said the victim and suspect's 4-year-old child may have been present at the family's home when Guzman was killed.

Court records state authorities believe Lopez intended to flee the country, as they found another vehicle on the property, which had a car seat for a child, a packed diaper bag, the child’s birth certificate and Lopez’s passport.

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During the bond hearing, Lopez’s team argued she killed Guzman in self-defense, but prosecutors said Lopez failed to provide proof to support the allegation.

Authorities noted Lopez has relatives in Mexico and Guatemala, and in a recording made when Lopez was in the Geneva County jail, she allegedly told a relative, “I should have left earlier.”

According to officials, Guzman was described as being “completely” dismembered, and he is believed to have been killed between Aug. 24 and Aug. 27.