Pettis County detectives gather more evidence from wooded area

Human remains were found inside and around the trailer of 65-year-old Joseph Arbeiter of Sedalia on Sunday and Monday, leading police to begin a homicide investigation.

Tuesday detectives continued to gather evidence from the wooded area across from Arbeiter’s trailer.

Pettis County Sheriff’s department confirms it was not body parts in the bag on Tuesday.

Captain Dave Keller with the Pettis County Sheriff’s Department told ABC 17 News that Tuesday they were bringing in all of Arbeiter’s neighbors for questioning.

Keller told ABC 17 News once the autopsy is complete they will know if the body parts were from one or multiple people.

The autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

ABC 17 News discovered an article written by the Associated Press in January 1970 detailing the murder trial of Joseph Arbeiter, who allegedly stabbed a woman to death in 1963.

According to the article, Nancy Zanone was stabbed in December 1963 in St. Louis.

A juvenile court decided Arbeiter should be tried an adult in circuit court.

During the trial, a juvenile officer testified Arbeiter admitted to hurting the woman.

Arbeiter was freed from a murder conviction due to a ruling saying the state “does not have available to it legally admissible evidence of the defendant’s guilt.”

In other words, the court could not use the juvenile officer’s testimony to convict Arbeiter, and the only alternative was to discharge him.

Arbeiter eventually found his way to prison, however.

Arbeiter served multiple stints in prison, from 1976 to 1977 for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, from 1982 to 1992 on drug charges, and from 1994 to 2002 for a violation of parole. Arbeiter was discharged from parole in May 2002.

Arbeiter is currently in jail on multiple charges, including assault and attempted rape that happened last week.

Stay with ABC 17 News for the latest on this developing story.