14 DAY TRIAL // A man was fatally shot in Rincon, near Savannah, Georgia, during a stand-off with local police. As officers searched his house, they encountered another man's severed head and hands.
Police went to the home of Chad Moretz to inquire about an acquaintance of his. Charlie Ray III, of Wilmington Island, had been missing since New Year's Eve.
As they arrived on January 11, they found that he had taken a hostage in his 205 Whitehall Avenue residence. Police reports described 34-year-old Moretz as unstable.
The victim's head and hands were found concealed in the wall at the time police were able to enter the house, according to Savannah Now. It has been confirmed following an autopsy that they belonged to Ray.
Police searching Moretz's Jasper County, South Carolina, storage locker came across more parts of the victim's dismembered body.
David Ehsanipoor, public information officer for the ECSO, told WTOC that Kimberly Moretz and her brother, 38-year-old Kevin Lambert, have been arrested for concealing the crime.
Following threats against the officers' lives, a SWAT team was brought in, at around 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Authorities were alerted to the danger by wife Kimberly, who opened the door when they knocked and whispered that he had a weapon. She implied that she was being held hostage.
Effingham County and Savannah-Chatham police negotiators were brought in before the suspect was shot.
“During the conversations with negotiators, Moretz did say he would use his rifle, scope them in and shoot officers. [...] We did everything we could to bring him out,” Ehsanipoor says.
Moretz's wife, 42-year-old Kimberly Moretz suffered minor injuries, possibly incurring broken ribs.
“She possibly had some cracked ribs,” Ehsanipoor adds.