Man says he dismembered wife’s body for family’s sake
KANSAS CITY: Justin Todd Rey told a judge yesterday he desperately wanted to keep his family together.
That’s why he didn’t seek medical help when his wife delivered their baby in a Kansas City hotel bath a year ago.
And afterwards, when she killed herself, Rey said, he didn’t call police.
Instead, he spent about eight hours hacking her body into pieces so he could take her corpse to Arizona along with his newborn and 2yearold daughters.
‘‘It’s something I had to do,’’ Rey testified in Johnson County District Court. ‘‘My family is very dear to me. It’s something I had to do to protect my family.’’
In an extremely unusual move, Rey testified during his preliminary hearing in Johnson County District Court, where he is charged with two counts of aggravated child endangerment and two counts of contributing to a child’s misconduct.
After the hearing, District Judge Brenda Cameron ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Rey (36) is also charged in Jackson County with abandonment of a corpse.
Last October, Lenexa police discovered several containers full of body parts when they were called to a storage facility to investigate someone staying at the facility with two small children.
They spoke to Rey, who was holding the newborn girl and had his 2yearold with him. Officers said the older girl looked pale, had bags under her eyes and thinning hair.
One officer testified yesterday the child ‘‘almost looked like she had cancer.’’
The baby had a serious eye infection, according to several witnesses.
Rey initially told police that his wife, Jessica Rey, was in Arizona. But he later said she committed suicide.
He said that when police stopped him, he was on his way to catch a train to Arizona, where he was taking his wife’s body for a proper ceremony.
The children were taken into protective custody and Rey was arrested.
Rey said he didn’t call police because he feared that they would take the children away. —TCA