Missing Woman’s Body Found in Freezer 20 Feet From Boyfriend’s Apartment
On Monday, residents of a McKees Rocks apartment building called 911 to report the discovery of a dead body. Upon arrival, police found a body inside an unplugged refrigerator, according to the Allegheny County Police Department.
The fridge had been kept in the second-floor hallway of the apartment building with its doors against the wall, according to neighbours. The smell coming from within it prompted neighbours to look inside.
“It was smelling. We didn’t know where the smell was coming from because the fridge was facing backwards,” John Starling, told a neighbour. “I’m not even sure it was a person at first. I saw a hand and a dirty sheet. It was gruesome.”
The victim was identified as 38-year-old Kristy Jefferson, who had been missing since April 29, police said. Her boyfriend, Daryl Jones, 40, whose apartment was about 20 feet from the fridge, has been charged with abuse of a corpse.
The cause and manner of Jefferson’s death are unclear. Her family last spoke to her over FaceTime on April 26. They worried for her safety and had requested a welfare check because the couple reportedly had a violent past.
One of the building’s residents had seen Jefferson at Jones’ apartment before her death.
Wednesday this time last week was the last time I have seen this young lady because I knocked on her door. She came to the door, and I thought everything was OK,” neighbour Margie Martin recalled. “I wish I had known something. I could have helped her.”