Suspect claims leg as his own, tells deputies: documents

A man in California was accused of carrying a severed leg that belonged to the person who was hit by a train in Wasco. The train conductor reported that the person hit, later identified as Rosendo Tellez, seemed to be in communication with the victim before the incident occurred. Tellez was seen standing 20 feet away from the victim as they walked onto the tracks and was later found with the severed leg after the crash.

Tellez claimed that he thought the severed foot belonged to him and picked it up to take to the hospital but ran away when confronted by authorities. He is facing charges of removing human remains from a non-cemetery location, disposing of human remains outside of a cemetery, destroying or concealing evidence, and resisting a peace officer. Additionally, Tellez is also facing a separate charge of possession of drug paraphernalia in another case.

Videos taken by witnesses showed Tellez with the severed leg, including one where he briefly brought the leg to his mouth. Another video showed him waving the leg in the air as if presenting it, and a third video depicted him proving to deputies that both of his legs were intact. A construction worker reported that Tellez had struck one of their machines with the severed limb, and the victim could not be identified at the scene due to the severity of their injuries.

The court records indicate that Tellez, who is homeless, has several prior misdemeanor convictions, primarily related to drug or alcohol-related offenses. The victim of the train incident, who appeared to be male with a goatee-style facial hair, was unable to be identified at the scene where the human remains were scattered from the point of impact to 100 feet south. Tellez is scheduled for a pretrial conference next week to address the charges brought against him in connection to the incident.