Cambridge man facing charges in connection with duffel bag of human remains held on $1M bail

Bail was set at $1 million for the 32-year-old Cambridge man police say is connected to a gruesome incident over the weekend where human remains were found in a duffel bag and in a recycling bin.

Carlos Colina, of 157 Sixth Apt. 305, Monday morning pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and battery and improper disposition of a human body in Cambridge District Court. He did not face murder charges.

Cambridge Police said security at Biogen Global Command Center Saturday morning notified them of a suspicious duffel bag leaning up against a fence near a Biogen property at 225 Binney Street.

Police arrived with bomb-sniffing dogs. However, while no explosives were found police opened the bag to find a headless human torso clothed in boxer shorts.

The torso also had no arms, and the legs were severed off below the knee. Police cross-referenced surveillance video with the records of key card entries into an apartment building on Sixth Street, which brought them to Colina’s apartment.

A search of the building yielded more body parts, including a head, two arms and two legs wrapped in white trash bags inside a common area trash closet on the third floor, according to authorities.

Police found a piece of rope, a handsaw with the handle broken off with red-brown stains on the blade and cleaning supplies in a trashcan in Colina’s apartment. Police also said they also saw “tool marks” in the bathtub and red-brown stains under the rug.

Authorities also found credit cards and a Massachusetts license that was cut into many pieces in the apartment. Based on that information and video surveillance from the apartment complex , authorities believe the victim is 34-year-old Jonathan Camilien.

Camilien — described as a “thin man” by police — could be seen entering and leaving the building multiple times with Colina on the night of April 3. Police now allege Colina assaulted and beat Camilien sometime early Saturday.

Colina, who is listed as unemployed in court records, stood in court in plaid shirtsleeves and glasses. He was shielded from view by a partition for most of his brief arraignment. Members of his family looked on during the proceeding. He is due back in court on April 14. The cause and manner of death are still pending.

“It’s obviously a very sad situation,” said Colina’s attorney, John Cunha Jr. “I can’t imagine much sadder than this.”

Cunha declined to comment on regarding how the victim and his client knew each other.