An Alabama woman has been detained in connection with her boyfriend’s decapitated body discovered in a car at their home last month.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed to PEOPLE that the “dismembered and decapitated” body of Benito Morales Guzman, 41, was discovered on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at a residence in Slocomb, Alabama.
The Geneva County coroner confirmed the victim’s identification to PEOPLE, adding that Guzman was found beheaded and his body “completely dismembered.”
On Thursday, Aug. 29, the agency revealed in a news release that they had arrested 26-year-old Joselina Elizabeth Lopez on a murder charge in connection with the body discovered in the couple’s house.
According to AL.com, authorities arrived at Guzman’s home after a coworker reported him missing from work to the sheriff’s office.
When they got to the house, they smelt a “strong odor of decomposition” coming from a car and discovered many waste bags inside, according to ALEA’s Agent Phillip Schuler during a bond hearing on Wednesday, September 4.
According to the source, they discovered Guzman’s remains “mutilated into multiple pieces” across several bags in the car, along with an electric chainsaw, knives, and cleaning equipment, citing undisclosed court records.
“The chainsaw found in the vehicle still had human flesh on it,” investigators stated in the record. They also discovered blood on a box of infant formula in the diaper bag, according to court filings.
The couple had a four-year-old child, the coroner revealed to PEOPLE. Prosecutors and detectives believe the child, who has autism and specific difficulties, was present throughout the alleged killing.
Guzman stated during a court appearance that she was acting in self-defense. The judge refused her bond.
It was unclear whether Guzman had filed a plea or hired an attorney to speak on her behalf.