Friend of dismembered Louisville woman continues push for justice

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A friend of the Louisville woman killed in a gruesome multi-state dismembering investigation is still pushing for swift justice in her case.

Denise Teague said she became friends with Ladawndra Ellington over the past year. Monday, Teague was wearing a mask that read ‘Justice 4 Dawndra.’

“She was amazing,” Teague said. “She was a beautiful woman.”

Within the last few weeks, she learned Ellington had been killed in an unthinkable way.

“I want to cry because she had a beautiful soul,” she said. “If you needed anything, she would give you the shirt off her back. This lady did not deserve it. She was just an amazing person. She really was.”

Earlier in September, Melvin Martin, 30, admitted to dismembering Ellington’s body, dumping her torso in a Clifton Heights park, and packing some of her other body parts in a suitcase and tote bag. Police said he then got on a Greyhound bus to Chicago to visit his parents in the suburb of Markham.

A foul odor eventually lead a family member to open the suitcase and find her body parts inside, according to law enforcement in Illinois.

“For somebody to do that to a person, to a human being, that is the worst thing you could ever do to somebody,” Teague said.

Teague teared up when talking about Ellington and said she wants to make sure her friend is not forgotten.

“Let’s get this man here,” she said. “Let’s get this woman the justice she deserves.”

Teague said justice will be closer to being achieved when Martin is extradited to Louisville from Illinois. The Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office said that is set to happen within the next two weeks.

Teague wants to see the transfer as quickly as possible.

Those at Ekklesia Christian Life Ministries remembered Ellington as a kind, gentle soul.

“She would help us deliver food and essentials to the homeless,” the church posted on Facebook. “She didn’t deserve to die the way she did. Praying for her family. Heartbroken.”

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