WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Body found stuffed in suitcase identified

Body found stuffed in suitcase identified

By Connie Leonard - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A man taking out the trash Thursday morning in the 200 block of East Kentucky Street discovered the body of a woman stuffed inside a suitcase. The victim has been identified as 45-year-old Dorie Eppler, but the cause of Eppler’s death has not been released.

Clemmie Flagg was the man who found Eppler’s body behind the Cornerstone Apartments. He said he has seen similar scenarios on TV crime shows, but he can't believe it actually happened to him.

"To find something like that, just right outside my back door it's pretty shocking," said Flagg.

It was just before 11 a.m. Thursday, Flagg said was taking some trash out to the dumpster when he made the discovery.

"I noticed the suitcase up under the tree behind the dumpster so I thought maybe somebody was hiding some stolen merchandise or something like that and I went and opened the bag and seen a young lady stuffed up in the fetal position, stuffed in the suitcase," said Flagg, who called 911 from his cell phone.

At first, Flagg thought the body was that of a child or teenager because it was small. He also noticed Eppler’s hands were up around her face, but he said he was so shocked after making the discovery, he didn't look again to see how she was wounded. Another man also taking out trash Thursday morning also told WAVE 3 he remembered seeing the suitcase too, but walked away.

Neighbor Minnie Meredith said she's seen some crime in the area, but in her 50-plus years living in the area, there has been nothing like this.

"I do night work for 15 years coming in here at night and I've never had a problem," said Meredith.

Flagg says he's seen a lot of TV crime stories, but can't believe he ended up in a real one.  

"To actually happen to me, it's pretty shocking," he remembered, " I was shaking all over and I was really, really scared because I've never really seen a dead body." 

Flagg said the way Eppler’s body was found behind the trash is something no family should have to deal with. He is hopeful police will find those responsible.

An autopsy will be performed on Eppler's body Friday morning to determine the cause of death. Anyone with information is asked to call the LMPD Crime Tip Line at 574-LMPD (5673). All calls to the Crime Tip Line are anonymous.

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