An elderly Florida man has been arrested in connection with the brutal slaying of his wife, who was shot, dismembered and then shoved inside multiple suitcases, police said. The husband's attorney says his client is an "upstanding citizen."

William Lowe Jr., 78, was charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of his 80-year-old wife, Aydil Barbosa Fontes, the Delray Beach Police Department announced Thursday.

The woman's remains had been found in three suitcases, the first of which was found on July 21 in the Intracoastal Waterway, police said. Shortly thereafter, two more pieces of luggage were found in the waters.

Police had asked for the public's help in the case.

Lowe is being held without bail at the Palm Beach County Jail, authorities said.

"The allegations against Mr. Lowe (are) obviously horrendous," his defense attorney, Marc Shiner, tells Inside Edition Digital. "He has a Purple Heart for Vietnam. He was an upstanding citizen for 78 years so the allegations don't fit Mr. Lowe," Shiner says.

Lowe has pleaded not guilty and is "looking forward to fighting these allegations in the courtroom as soon as possible," his lawyer says.

Delray Police Det. Michael Liberta told reporters at a press conference that witness accounts and surveillance footage helped led investigators to Lowe, who was married to the victim for at least 15 years.

Blood spatter was found inside Lowe's home, as well as a chainsaw investigators say may have been used to cut up the woman's body. Fontes had been shot before being dismembered, police said. 

A motive for the killing has not been disclosed.

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