An arrest affidavit says witness statements, camera records and blood evidence helped support a murder charge against a 19-year-old defendant.
INDIALANTIC, Fla. — Detectives in Brevard County say a welfare check, a missing-person report and a gruesome discovery in Palm Bay came together in a homicide case that now accuses Lucas Sander Jones, 19, of killing Colie Lee Daniel and dumping dismembered remains in suitcases.
The case matters now because investigators have publicly laid out the evidence they say links Daniel’s disappearance to Jones’ home and later to a remote dump site. The affidavit describes a fast-moving investigation involving Daniel’s family, Palm Bay and Indialantic police, surveillance systems, forensic testing and a girlfriend’s statement that detectives say helped explain what happened inside the house and after the body was moved.
The timeline in court records begins on March 20, when detectives said Daniel arrived at Jones’ Watson Drive home in Indialantic at about 5:32 p.m. Daniel, 28, was seen on neighborhood surveillance getting out of his white Hyundai Elantra, according to the affidavit. Hours later, at about 9:45 p.m., Daniel’s parents came to the house with concerns and Jones answered the door. Investigators wrote that he said Daniel was inside but would not allow them or officers to enter. A red Honda Accord Hybrid later tied to Jones’ girlfriend arrived during that period. The affidavit says Burrows was told to go inside and not say anything. By early March 21, camera records showed the Honda traveling westbound over the Strawbridge Causeway, and detectives later concluded Jones had gone to nearby train tracks to drop off a bag with unknown contents before making later trips into The Compound.
The remains were not discovered until March 28, after Palm Bay officers responded around 10:50 a.m. to a report of an abandoned suitcase near 5574 Babcock Street with vultures around it. The field is part of the area residents call The Compound. Officers found a black suitcase in tall grass and then another nearby. Police said the luggage contained partial dismembered human remains. One of the suitcases also held an Amazon package addressed to Jones at the Indialantic home, a detail that quickly shifted attention back to Watson Drive. Detectives obtained and executed a search warrant there later that day. Inside, they said, they found blood droplets and blood spatter across multiple rooms. Presumptive testing was positive for large amounts of human blood in the hallway and living room and also in the garage and kitchen. Jones’ vehicle access, use of Burrows’ car and the route to the dump site all became part of the probable-cause record.
Burrows’ later statement gave detectives the strongest direct account in the affidavit. After first giving a different version of events, she returned to police on March 30 and said Jones admitted the killing to her. According to detectives, she said Jones told her, “I killed somebody and cut him up,” then later identified the victim as Colie Lee. She said he told her he used a baseball bat and a cleaver, and she described seeing signs that the home had been cleaned, though blood remained in floor grout, on carpet strips, on baseboards and on a wall outside Jones’ bedroom. Burrows also told police Jones had already put the remains into totes and suitcases by the time she came over. She said he later told her he killed Daniel because Daniel was a sex offender. Investigators wrote that Jones had a printed list of nearby registered sex offenders, though the affidavit did not explain when or why that list was made.
The medical findings added another layer but also left open key questions. Detectives said the medical examiner confirmed on March 31 that the remains recovered on March 28 were Daniel’s. The autopsy, according to the affidavit, ruled the death a homicide but did not assign a final specific cause because all of Daniel’s remains had not been recovered. The examiner noted blunt-force injuries to the head and extensive postmortem injuries, including dismemberment and mutilation, the affidavit says. Investigators also reported evidence of defensive wounds on Daniel’s upper extremities. Elsewhere in the filing, detectives said a drill bit was found in a bag with some remains and that an injury was consistent with a hole of similar size. They also said Jones bought paint and other items at Lowe’s, used a steam cleaner and poured drain cleaner into plumbing to destroy evidence after the killing.
The case is now in its charging stage, with investigators seeking to move from the initial body-disposal and evidence counts to a murder prosecution. The arrest affidavit asks for a warrant on a violation of Florida Statute 782.04(2), which covers second-degree murder. The document was sworn March 31 and filed April 1 in Brevard County circuit court. Fox 35 reported April 3 that Jones had been charged in Daniel’s death. The earlier allegations tied to tampering with evidence, abuse of a dead human body and improper disposal of human remains remain part of the public record around the case. What comes next is likely to include further forensic review, standard pretrial hearings and any decision by prosecutors on whether to refine or add charges as more evidence is tested.
Even in a state known for hard-to-forget crime scenes, the details in this one stand out because of how it unfolded: a family trying to find a missing son, officers checking a home, cameras recording repeated car trips and vultures leading police to luggage in a wide stretch of overgrown land. Detectives wrote that Jones had injuries visible on his body during the welfare-check period and that Burrows later described him coaching her on how to speak with police and how to keep daily life looking normal. Those details do not answer every question about motive or relationship, but they show why investigators say the case grew stronger over several days rather than in a single break.
As of Friday, Jones faced a murder charge in Brevard County and the investigation was still developing. The next key step is the court process on the second-degree murder case, along with any future disclosures on forensic results and unrecovered remains.
Author note: Last updated April 4, 2026.