The hum of a vacuum and the scent of bleach spilled into the hallway from apartment 305. The tenant, 32-year-old Carlos D. Colina, eventually emerged. His clothes were wet and reeked of chemicals, police said. He had abrasions on his forehead, arm, back, and neck.

Moments after officers discovered a duffel bag packed with parts of limbs and a torso clothed in boxer shorts, officers found the remainder of the limbs, a head, and a foot bagged and stuffed into a third-floor recycling bin at Kendall Crossing, a seven-story, brick-and-glass building on Sixth Street near Binney Street.


During a search of Colina’s apartment, police found a piece of rope; a broken, bloodied handsaw, and cleaning supplies in a trash can; tool marks inside the bathtub; and blood stains on the carpet. The items were removed for forensic evidence.

Colina, who once called himself a “beast” after getting into a fight at a gym, pleaded not guilty Monday in Cambridge District Court to charges of being an accessory after the fact to assault and battery and improper disposal of a body, involving the dismembering of an acquaintance. District Court Judge Roanne Sragow-Licht set bail at $1 million. Colina is due back in court April 14.

“This was a gruesome discovery,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said.

“Detectives are continuing to analyze evidence and awaiting information from the office of the chief medical examiner so that we may determine if additional charges are warranted. We are not seeking anyone else in connection with the discovery of these human remains.”

The victim was identified as Jonathan M. Camilien, 26, of Somerville. His mother and other relatives attended the court hearing Monday but declined to comment afterward.


Colina’s family sat across the courtroom from Camilien’s mother, and also declined to comment.

Neighbor Jim Pegg said Camilien lived with his brother. He described the siblings as “very polite, very nice. No trouble.”

“I could not believe it,” he said of Camilien’s death.

Cheryl Hall, 60, who lives near Camilien’s family, also was stunned to hear what happened.

“For someone to do that to someone. . . . That’s sick!” Hall said, describing Camilien as a “quiet person. He liked his music. That little kid did not bother anybody.”

A motive for Camilien’s death was not disclosed in a police report filed in court in connection with the attack, but police said in the report that a neighbor heard arguing coming from Colina’s apartment Friday night. The district attorney’s office did not say how the two knew each other.

Camilien was last seen returning with Colina to the building at 11:17 p.m. Friday, police said.

Colina, wearing glasses and a blue plaid shirt, appeared briefly in the prisoners’ dock before defense attorney John H. Cunha Jr., asked him to step out of public view.

“Obviously, the circumstances of the case are sensational enough,’’ Cunha said. “I’m not going to exacerbate it. My heart goes out to the deceased.”

Colina, who has lived at Kendall Crossing since 2004 and who, according to a police report, is unemployed, was described by one neighbor as “extremely aggressively friendly.”

Pamela Kmiec said Colina would often sit in a folding chair at the building’s entrance, smoking cigarettes and chatting up neighbors.


“I think he was genuinely desperate for social interaction,” said Kmiec, who would occasionally speak to Colina. “He was always polite . . . and clingy to anyone who would respond to him. It was more like he was an outsider trying to be in.”

On his Facebook page, Colina has photos of himself lifting weights and flexing shirtless.

Colina placed second in a bench press and dead-lift competition held by a trainer from Cambridge Athletic Club, but was kicked out of the gym after allegedly assaulting a patron in November, according to court records.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for any violence,” said Josh Smith, the gym’s general manager, adding that Colina’s membership was immediately terminated.

According to a witness in the pending case, Colina and a second man got into an argument when Colina objected to the man exercising in an area of the gym. When the man made an obscene gesture, Colina attacked him, said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid publicity.

Colina pinned the patron against the mirror and pummeled him, court records show.

“Carlos walks over and starts fighting with him. He sucker-punched him,’’ the witness said. “It was a bizarre situation. . . . Carlos was punching him in the head. He had a cut on his head.’’

The man said trainers stepped in and ended the fight.

Colina, according to the witness, began celebrating, saying, “I’m a beast! I’m a beast!”


“He was proud of it,” said the witness, who added that gym staff had noticed what he described as Colina’s overly aggressive behavior toward other club members. Smith, though, said he was not aware of other problems involving Colina.

Colina’s latest arrest stems from surveillance video at nearby Biogen offices that allegedly captured him exiting the Kendall Crossing apartment building, where he lives, about 4:15 a.m., burdened with a large bag.

The man carrying the bag walked past a pedestrian and dropped the bag in bushes near Biogen’s building on Binney Street, Cambridge police wrote in their report. The man is then seen returning to Kendall Crossing about 4:45 a.m., not carrying anything, police said.

A Biogen security guard noticed the duffel bag at 5:30 a.m., but it wasn’t reported to Cambridge Police until 7:45 a.m., triggering a response by Officer Sean Tierney and his explosives-detecting dog.

The dog did not react as if the bag contained an explosive, but did try to force it open, police said.

At that point, Tierney opened the bag and discovered a headless torso.

The Biogen video led them to Kendall Crossing, where security told police that only one resident, Colina, who lived on the third floor, used his card key to enter the building early Saturday.

In addition to the gruesome discovery, police found a cellphone with a shattered screen, a Charlie Card, credit cards, and a driver’s license. All had been cut into pieces, but police determined that they belonged to Camilien.


Colina agreed to be questioned at police headquarters nearby, but asked two questions as he was led out of his building.

“Why am I a suspect?” he asked, according to police.

He also asked whether he should cover his face from reporters.

Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com. John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.