A 71-year-old American national living in the Philippines has been arrested for murder after the decomposing body of his 48-year-old girlfriend was discovered inside a water drum at her home near the capital of Manila.

Police in Bacoor City told AFP they arrested the expat, William Thomas Worth, Tuesday after opening a blue plastic container and finding inside the body of Mila Loslos.

The woman’s bloated corpse was stuffed into a garbage bag and sealed with duct tape.

According to a police report, officers headed to Loslos’ home hours after her 21-year-old son contacted them, saying his mother had been missing for four days, reported the news outlet Rappler.com.

Nino Jay Loslos told the authorities when he went to his mother’s home looking for her, he found Worth there.

The son asked Worth where his mom was, to which the American allegedly replied he did not know.

But the 21-year-old became suspicious because as he detected foul odor in the the house and headed to the police precinct seeking help, leading to the grisly discovery.

Investigators also recovered three knives and a length of nylon rope at the scene.

They noted that Worth had several wounds on his body. 

“Based on our assessment, the victim has been dead for two to three days,” Bacoor City police chief Ruther Saquilayan told the Manila Bulletin.

An autopsy will be performed on Loslos to determine her cause of death.

A preliminary investigation allegedly showed Worth and Loslos got into a fight after he found out his girlfriend was married with a child, and not single as she claimed.

During the argument, the woman slipped and hit her head, and Worth then allegedly strangled her to death, police said.

Worth was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to be charged with murder in Loslos’ death.

“We are aware of this case. Due to US Privacy Act considerations, we cannot provide any further information,” a US embassy spokesman in Manila told AFP.