Elena

And he was expecting to see, you know, maybe an animal in the water or something like inanimate just floating in the water. But it was not an animal and it was not something inanimate. David Avena had been a surgical nurse. And so he was very well versed on the human body. What are the odds? And yeah, right?

And he immediately knew what was floating in the bay had definitely once been part of a human body. Oh, man. Specifically, it was the trunk portion of a man. Oh. But the head, arms, and legs were missing. Damn. Which must have been horrifying to see. Yeah. So he led his kids back to the car and immediately called the police, and they arrived on the scene a few minutes later.

And he immediately knew what was floating in the bay had definitely once been part of a human body. Oh, man. Specifically, it was the trunk portion of a man. Oh. But the head, arms, and legs were missing. Damn. Which must have been horrifying to see. Yeah. So he led his kids back to the car and immediately called the police, and they arrived on the scene a few minutes later.

Now, the remains were removed from the water, and while they were doing that, police and shore patrol agents were fanning out across the beach, looking for any additional evidence, any more remains. And several hours into the search, long after the sun had gone down, investigators found about 80 feet offshore, three garbage bags containing more of this victim's remains.

Now, the remains were removed from the water, and while they were doing that, police and shore patrol agents were fanning out across the beach, looking for any additional evidence, any more remains. And several hours into the search, long after the sun had gone down, investigators found about 80 feet offshore, three garbage bags containing more of this victim's remains.

A short time after that, more bags were found down the shore, and those contained the rest of the man's remains.

A short time after that, more bags were found down the shore, and those contained the rest of the man's remains.

According to the technician who performed the autopsy, the remains were that of an elderly white man in his 70s. So sad. You make it to 70 years old. And that's how you go out. The cause of death was a .22 caliber gunshot wound to the face. All indications were that the dismemberment had occurred post-mortem. Okay. Yeah.

According to the technician who performed the autopsy, the remains were that of an elderly white man in his 70s. So sad. You make it to 70 years old. And that's how you go out. The cause of death was a .22 caliber gunshot wound to the face. All indications were that the dismemberment had occurred post-mortem. Okay. Yeah.

More interesting than the remains themselves was that there was a lot of other stuff mixed in with these remains. There was a lot of pieces of garbage, basically. Cash register receipts for garbage bags, a drop cloth, a $6.99 bow saw. In the bags, they also found bloody towels, one flip-flop, one shower shoe, a piece of tan fabric.

More interesting than the remains themselves was that there was a lot of other stuff mixed in with these remains. There was a lot of pieces of garbage, basically. Cash register receipts for garbage bags, a drop cloth, a $6.99 bow saw. In the bags, they also found bloody towels, one flip-flop, one shower shoe, a piece of tan fabric.

Like a bunch of blue plastic cups, used paper towels, and a copy of USA Today from two days earlier. Huh. And the address label was still on the USA Today. Oh. When they scoured the shoreline, they also found a blue bed sheet and a pair of men's underwear. Okay. So a lot of stuff. Yeah, that's a lot. A lot of stuff.

Like a bunch of blue plastic cups, used paper towels, and a copy of USA Today from two days earlier. Huh. And the address label was still on the USA Today. Oh. When they scoured the shoreline, they also found a blue bed sheet and a pair of men's underwear. Okay. So a lot of stuff. Yeah, that's a lot. A lot of stuff.

So investigators ran the victim's fingerprints and identified him as 71-year-old Morris Black. Okay. Morris Black was a resident of Galveston. He did have a criminal record, but it was just minor offenses. People who knew him... They didn't have the kindest things to say about him. They called him gruff. They called him short-tempered. He was very demanding, that kind of thing.

So investigators ran the victim's fingerprints and identified him as 71-year-old Morris Black. Okay. Morris Black was a resident of Galveston. He did have a criminal record, but it was just minor offenses. People who knew him... They didn't have the kindest things to say about him. They called him gruff. They called him short-tempered. He was very demanding, that kind of thing.

They didn't call him like he was this horrible monster. It was just like he was kind of like a grumpy older dude. Kind of like, yeah, short-tempered. A Galveston business owner said of dealing with Morris Black, no matter how busy we were, he would break in and demand that I stop everything and see him. Yeah. And Black's sister, Trudy, kind of gave a similar description.

They didn't call him like he was this horrible monster. It was just like he was kind of like a grumpy older dude. Kind of like, yeah, short-tempered. A Galveston business owner said of dealing with Morris Black, no matter how busy we were, he would break in and demand that I stop everything and see him. Yeah. And Black's sister, Trudy, kind of gave a similar description.

She said of her brother, if he had a disagreement, he'd go protest. He'd march in front of the building. He could make enemies. Oof. So he had a little bit of a reputation. So investigators were like, all right, there's probably at least one person that might have wanted to hurt him. Right. But the more they interviewed his neighbors and acquaintances, they realized that it wasn't that, like...

She said of her brother, if he had a disagreement, he'd go protest. He'd march in front of the building. He could make enemies. Oof. So he had a little bit of a reputation. So investigators were like, all right, there's probably at least one person that might have wanted to hurt him. Right. But the more they interviewed his neighbors and acquaintances, they realized that it wasn't that, like...

He was like a bad guy. And it's not like, they really didn't find, they were like, I don't think he would have attracted a killer. He seems like he's just kind of like a, like a nuisance. Yeah. Like he just kind of, he rubs people the wrong way.