Man held in death of woman whose body parts were found in bags

A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman whose dismembered body was found scattered along railroad tracks in Riverside, police said Wednesday afternoon.

Jamie Lea Harmer’s body parts were found April 27 in plastic bags that had been tossed along the tracks near Panorama Avenue, the Riverside Police Department said.

Police described the 32-year-old Harmer as a transient who had been in Riverside since early March. Her last permanent address was in Thief River Falls, Minn.

Police said they apprehended Christopher Marcus Brown on Tuesday on an unrelated felony warrant at his Riverside apartment and questioned him about Harmer’s death.

“Detectives and forensic technicians spent 18 hours searching his apartment and discovered physical evidence related to the crime,” police officials said in a statement.

Brown was being held Wednesday in Riverside County jail.