Pa. man charged after dad’s body found in barrel
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EAST VANDERGRIFT (AP) – A man has been charged with abuse of a corpse after police said the body of his father was found inside a large plastic barrel in the basement of their western Pennsylvania home.
Thirty-one-year-old David Jordan Thomas of East Vandergrift was also charged in Westmoreland County with identity theft and a related access device count after the body of 59-year-old David F. Thomas was found Tuesday in the blue 55-gallon drum.
Vandergrift police chief Joe Caporali said an autopsy is planned Wednesday and additional charges are possible.
Investigators allege in an affidavit that the defendant said he found his father dead and used the older man’s bank card to order the barrel.
East Vandergrift is a tiny borough about 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh served by police from neighboring Vandergrift.