A 35-year-old Claresholm man charged with murdering a Vulcan senior is accused of "dismembering" the body before disposing of it in various locations, according to court documents.
The gruesome allegation came to light following a court appearance Tuesday by Timmy Douglas Engel, who then spent the afternoon with investigators who are probing the killing of Otto (Bunty) Loose.
An RCMP spokesman said Engel, who is in custody, accompanied investigators to several locations associated with the crime.
"He has been co-operative," said Sgt. Patrick Webb.
Someone abducted Loose, 77, from his rural home near Vulcan on Jan. 8.
Relatives and friends grew concerned as days wore on without hearing from Loose, a retired farmer who remained in close touch with those he knew and rarely strayed far from home.
Believing Loose may have been the victim of foul play, the RCMP launched a large-scale investigation that culminated in the discovery of Loose's remains in a wooded area near Claresholm on Saturday.
An autopsy Tuesday confirmed Loose's death was a homicide, but police have not disclosed how he was killed.
Engel, 35, is charged with first-degree murder and interfering with human remains.
Documents filed in court allege the second charge stems from "dismembering the body and disposing it in various locations."
Word of the allegations against Engel horrified Loose's friends.
"It's pretty sickening. He sure didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve anything bad happening to him. He was just a good guy," said Ken Major.
Police say they can't reveal more details about the location of the murder scene and where the remains were found because an on-site investigation is still underway.
Engel's common-law spouse, Bobbie-Jo Parks, is charged with obstructing a peace officer in connection with the crime.
Unlike Engel, who was remanded in custody following his court appearance, Parks - who is several months pregnant - was released and she returned to Claresholm with her mother.
Friends are now questioning how Parks, 28, came to face such serious allegations.
"I think she just got in with the wrong person and I don't know if maybe she was scared or if she just got herself into the whole mess as well," said one friend.
"I'm just totally shocked about everything."
At one point, friends said, Engel and Parks lived at her mother's home in the north end of town.
A relative who answered the door Tuesday declined to comment.
"It's a horrible situation," he said.
The couple most recently lived together in a townhouse unit a few blocks away.
The unit sat empty on Tuesday, but neighbours said police spent the previous day searching the property.
One neighbour saw officers rum-mage through garbage outside and tow away a vehicle.
Investigators have alleged the suspects befriended Loose as a way of extracting money from him.
Police said they have evidence that after being taken from his home, he was driven in his SUV to Nanton and Claresholm.
Investigators have surveillance footage from a local bank of some-one trying to use Loose's bank card at an ATM.
As well, police believe someone forced Loose to write a large cheque in their name, which was later cashed at a bank.
In the days immediately following Loose's disappearance, many of his friends feared he may have been harmed by a local resident he was involved with in a dispute over stolen property.
As part of routine inquiries police make in missing person cases, the RCMP contacted Loose's bank to see if it recorded any transactions that could offer clues to his whereabouts.
One RCMP senior officer credited swift co-operation from the banks with changing the direction of the investigation and pointing them to-ward suspects that hadn't previously been under suspicion.
"This one had the makings of a real whodunit: these people weren't even on our radar screen," Supt. Randy McGinnis said.
"If it wasn't for the assistance of the financial institutions, we wouldn't have resolved things so quickly."
The probe was also moved along by on-board roadside assistance equipment in Loose's SUV, which investigators used to find it in south-west Calgary last Wednesday.
McGinnis said evidence found during an examination of the vehicle helped investigators to piece together Loose's final hours and led them Saturday to his remains in a wooded area near Claresholm.
The discovery of Loose's remains had not been made public by the time Engel arrived at the Claresholm RCMP detachment Monday morning as part of bail conditions ordering him to report to police.
When Engel arrived for his routine visit, investigators arrested him in connection with Loose's killing.
Engel had been under house arrest facing a number of serious charges arising from an unrelated domestic case in December.
In connection with the domestic case - which doesn't involve his current spouse, Parks - Engel is charged with three counts of uttering threats, two counts of assault, two counts of overcoming resistance, three counts of kidnapping and assault with a weapon.
Engel will remain in custody in connection with the murder case and is now scheduled to appear in Leth-bridge provincial court Friday.
