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Jessica Padgett Murder: Gregory Graf, 53, allegedly killed his stepdaughter and filmed himself having sex with her corpse last month in Allen Township, Pennsylvania.
After a five-day search for Jessica Padgett — Graf’s 33-year-old stepdaughter — with a search warrant, investigators found Padgett’s body buried behind a shed in Graf’s back yard Nov. 26. Padgett had been shot in the back of the head.
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Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli explains to The Express-Times, “There was a videotape that the defendant made that shows him abusing the victim’s corpse sexually,” reports LehighValleyTimes.com.
Morganelli had previously alluded to a sexual motive after Graf was first charged. Graf had reportedly admitted to the killing after police found inconsistencies in his story, as well as discovering a link between him and Padgett’s car. Padgett had left her work on break, but surveillance video caught someone else mysteriously returning her car 15 minutes later — on the same day that she went missing. She herself had never returned to her employment at a Northampton day care center alive.
“Morganelli said he has instructed state police to file an additional charge of abuse of a corpse against Graf, who is already charged with criminal homicide and possession with the intent to deliver marijuana,” LeighHighValleyTimes.com further reports. “Investigators discovered a large amount of the drug in Graf’s basement before recovering Padgett’s body that day.”
Morganelli can not pursue the death penalty because Pennsylvania state law does not permit it. If Graf had sexually assaulted Padgett before her murder, then this case would qualify for the death penalty.
Agencies/Canadajournal
