Man arrested after cops find head in freezer
Investigators survey the scene after a human head was found in a freezer in Lancaster
By Barbara Barr
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LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — Lancaster police say a man was arrested after a human head was found in a freezer.
Donald Meshey Jr., 32, is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Warning: Some details may be disturbing.
Police said they responded around 8:51 a.m. Wednesday to a residence in the 200 block of West Strawberry Street after a woman reported she was concerned about the welfare of a family member.
She told police that Meshey told her there was a head in a freezer and a cadaver in a bed. She said she saw what she believed to be the head of a family member in a freezer.
According to court documents, Meshey escorted the responding officer to the kitchen in his apartment and removed what appeared to be a human head on a white dinner plate from the freezer.
The coroner later confirmed the head was human, police said.
Detectives who interviewed Meshey said he told them he found what he described as a “cadaver doll” in his father’s bedroom early Tuesday morning. The “cadaver doll” sounded and looked like his father, he said.
According to court documents, 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 basement.
Meshey retrieved the head Wednesday morning and put it in the kitchen freezer, police said.
According to court documents, Meshey then put the torso in a garbage bag and placed it in a footlocker. He used a hand truck to transport the footlocker outside and put it in a car, police said.
“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,” Cpt. Michael Winter said.
The coroner’s office has identified the victim as 67-year-old Donald Meshey. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds.
The incident is still under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ryan Burgett with the Lancaster City Police at 717-735-3412 or Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913. People can also submit a tip online or text a tip to Crime Stoppers by texting LANCS plus the message to 847411.
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