NEW YORK, NY — A freelance computer programmer accused of carving up the body of his female roommate with a power saw told detectives he fatally stabbed her after they argued over use of the shower, law enforcement sources said.

Julian Cowell, 23, was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Deborah Bowling, the woman with whom he sublet an apartment. The victim complained he was in the shower too long.

Detectives said Cowell stashed Bowling's arms, legs, torso and head in five black plastic garbage bags, one of which police found in his bedroom.

During interviews with detectives, according to sources, Cowell said he killed Bowling Friday morning in an argument over who could use the bathroom. He was upset, he explained, because she burst into the bathroom and complained he was in the shower too long.