A Pennsylvania man was arrested on August 11 after a human head was found in a freezer in his house. He is accused of murdering his father and storing the severed head in the freezer.
Donald Meshey Jr. killed his father, dismembered his body, stored the body parts in trash bags in his basement, moved the torso to another location in a town car, and stored the severed head in the freezer, reports say.
A Human Head from the Freezer Was Discovered After a Family Member Called Police
A female relative of the victim called the police to check on the welfare of family members at an apartment on W. Strawberry Street just before 9 a.m. after one of the residents, identified as Donald Meshey, Jr. told her that there was a cadaver in one of the beds and a head in the freezer, according to the Lancaster Police Department.
Responding officers spoke further with the woman who reportedly said she had just been inside the residence and spoke with Meshey, adding that she saw what she believed to be the head of one of her family members in the freezer.
According to the news release, Meshey escorted the officer inside the residence and took the officer to the kitchen, where he proceeded to remove what appeared to be a human head from the freezer to show the officer.
The Lancaster County Coroner's Office later confirmed that the head from the freezer was a human head.
Who is Donald Meshey Jr?
Donald Meshey Jr., 32 resides at 202 W. Strawberry Street Apt. 1, in Lancaster City. Earlier this year, a magisterial district judge in Lancaster County sentenced him to complete anger management counseling sessions after he pleaded guilty of shoving his sister into some boxes, but he failed to do so and instead had to pay the fines and court costs, according to PennLive.
Meshey had also pleaded guilty in 2019 to criminal mischief for damaging property after driving through the gate at a transportation center in Delaware County and leaving the scene, reported MEAWW.
Meshey Admitted to Stabbing the "Cadaver Doll" for Two to Three Minutes with a Knife
Detectives who interviewed Meshey said he told them he had found a "cadaver doll" in his father's bedroom which looked and sounded like his dad.
The news release says, "Meshey admitted he stabbed the 'cadaver doll' in the chest for two to three minutes with an eight- or nine-inch knife, then used a hand saw to dismember the body."
Court documents allege Meshey put the severed arms, legs and head in garbage bags, which he placed in the basemen, reports say.
Incident Under Investigation
Investigators began working on confirming the identity of the victim in the late evening of August 12 they were able to determine the body belonged to Meshey Sr.
"You can't imagine running into something like this. Obviously, it's a traumatic experience for anyone to experience, including police officers, so yeah, it's a horrific scene," Lancaster police Cpt. Michael Winter said, according to MEAWW.
Meanwhile, Meshey was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. He remained in custody without bail Thursday, reported nbcphiladelphia.com. The incident is still under investigation.
