– transgender teen body found dismembered suspect charged
– dismembered body transgender teen suspect charged.
Accident – Death – Obituary News : Pennsylvania authorities have officially confirmed that the dismembered human remains discovered late last month belong to a transgender teenager who had been reported missing. The Mercer County Coroner’s Office, along with Pennsylvania State Police, verified last week that the body parts found on June 25 in Shenango River Lake, a reservoir in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, were identified as Pauly Likens Jr., aged 14.
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Likens was last seen in the early hours of June 23 at a public park in her hometown of Sharon, Pennsylvania, located approximately 15 miles east of Youngstown, Ohio, according to police reports. She was reported missing two days later, coinciding with the discovery of unidentified human remains in the vicinity.
The coroner’s office formally identified the remains as Likens’ on Wednesday. Authorities determined that the cause of death was attributed to “sharp force trauma to the head” and noted that the body had been dismembered using “some type of cutting instrument.”
DaShawn Watkins, aged 29, was apprehended last week in connection with Likens’ tragic demise. He has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, as per court documents. Watkins could potentially face the death penalty or a life sentence if found guilty.
Efforts to contact Likens’ family for comment were unfortunately unsuccessful. Pamela Ladner, who leads the Shenango Valley LGBTQIA+ Alliance, a Mercer County LGBTQ advocacy group, revealed that Likens’ relatives have confirmed her identity as a transgender girl. Ladner mentioned that Likens’ mother is “in complete and utter shock” and is requesting privacy while also urging authorities to classify Watkins’ actions as a hate crime.
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Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker stated that, at present, authorities do not believe the homicide was motivated by anti-transgender hate. However, he acknowledged that this perspective could evolve as the investigation progresses. Acker described the homicide as “one of the most heinous crimes” he has encountered in his 46-year legal career.
On the evening prior to her disappearance, Likens was at a friend’s residence and left to walk home between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., according to a criminal complaint shared with NBC News. Her friend informed authorities that Likens communicated with her via Snapchat a few hours later, around 2:30 a.m.
Authorities linked Watkins to Likens and the crime scene through cellphone data and security footage, as per the complaint. Video evidence indicated Likens waiting near Budd Street Public Park, adjacent to the reservoir where her body was discovered, between 3 and 3:40 a.m. on the day she vanished. Likens’ phone last connected with cell towers in the vicinity around 3:40 a.m. before its service was abruptly cut off. The phone has yet to be recovered.
Footage from local establishments depicted Watkins’ vehicle journeying to and from the park area around the time Likens’ phone ceased communication with cell towers, the criminal complaint outlined. Video surveillance from Watkins’ apartment complex on June 23 and the following day revealed him struggling to transport large duffel and garbage bags in and out of his residence.
The complaint further detailed that Watkins’ apartment yielded multiple locations with traces of blood, including the bathroom and beneath the bathroom flooring. Watkins also purchased a cutting saw on the day Likens disappeared, the complaint disclosed. When authorities retrieved the saw at Watkins’ apartment last week, one of its exchangeable blades was reportedly missing.
During a recent interrogation, Watkins informed law enforcement that he engaged in sexual relations with an individual he met on Grindr, a popular gay dating app, on the morning of Likens’ disappearance. Watkins claimed to have had intimate contact with the same individual, resembling Likens, who did not accompany him back to his apartment. When questioned about the large bags he transported in and out of his residence, Watkins asserted that they were luggage left in his car from a previous vacation.
Watkins is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on July 25. Ladner has announced that a vigil in remembrance of Likens will be held in Sharon on Saturday..
– transgender teen body found dismembered
– suspect charged missing transgender teen.
