Dayton man charged after Kettering search; father's body parts found in Trotwood

Source: Yahoo

May 3 -- A Dayton man is facing charges after his father's body parts were found at two different sites in Trotwood and Dayton, and after a crime scene investigation at the dead man's home in Kettering, according to court and police records.

Edgar S. Keiter Jr., 52, of the 100 block of Ernst Avenue in north Dayton, has been charged with gross abuse of a corpse and three counts of tampering with evidence, Kettering Municipal Court records show. It was not immediately clear what other charges, if any, would follow.

Online records show Keiter was booked into the Montgomery County Jail just after 4 p.m. Friday. The jail website shows his bail on the felony charges at $1 million, with a court date set for 10:30 a.m. Monday.

The confusing case developed gradually over 12 days, according to police reports and new court records that were filed Friday.

In the early afternoon of April 22, Trotwood police responded to the 7500 block of Old Dayton Road after a man texted the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center about human remains in trash bags near his driveway.

An officer found a white tarp that "smelled to be a deceased human with flies around the bag," according to a police report. Inside a bag, the officer found two human legs but no blood.

Police said "the legs belonged to Edgar Keiter Sr., of 4555 Croftshire Dr." in Kettering, according to a statement of facts from Kettering Police detective Amy Pedro, which was filed Friday in Kettering Municipal Court. Witnesses said Keiter Jr. was at the Old Dayton Road address the night before the legs were found, according to the court documents.

On April 26, Kettering police and multiple crime scene units were at Keiter Sr.'s Croftshire Drive address. Neighbors said Keiter Jr. had been "observed clearing out the apartment" the previous week and driving his father's vehicle, according to court records.

Carpet in the residence had been pulled up and there was an area where bleach may have been poured on the floor, according to a Kettering police incident report.

Police documents also indicate officers recovered as evidence a tarp, rope, a saw and a saw blade.

Police also searched a storage unit in the 1700 block of Guenther Avenue in Dayton. Court documents say the person who rented the unit did so on Keiter Jr.'s request. According to court records, police found more body parts there, in bags matching the bags in which the legs were found.

Police also reported finding bloodstained carpet from the Croftshire Drive address in a garage behind Keiter Jr.'s Ernst Avenue residence.

The three "tampering with evidence" charges are third-degree felonies. The "abuse of a corpse" count is a fifth-degree felony. Court documents say all of the alleged offenses took place between April 12 and May 1.