Prosecutor: Video Shows Man “Sexually Abusing” Stepdaughter’s Corpse
A Northampton County man already accused of killing his stepdaughter made a video of himself “sexually abusing” the woman’s corpse, prosecutors now say.
Pennsylvania State Police discovered a homemade video of murder suspect Gregory Graf having sex with his stepdaughter’s remains, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Friday.
Morganelli said he believes necrophilia was Graf’s primary motive to shoot Jessica Padgett in the back of the head Nov. 21.
“There was a videotape that the defendant made that shows him abusing the victim’s corpse sexually,” he said Friday afternoon.
Padgett died November 21st. Graf was charged with killing her five days later. Morganelli says a charge of abusing a corpse will be added to the charges against Graf.
Graf, 53, is being held without bail on a homicide charge. The fencing company owner confessed to killing Padgett, a recently married mother of three, according to Morganelli.
Graf applied for a public defender, saying in court Friday that he didn’t want to burden his family financially. A judge turned him down, ruling he had enough money to pay for his own defense.
The Morning Call says the law won’t allow for a death penalty charge against Graf:
The disturbing revelation came as Morganelli said he has authorized the filing of an abuse of corpse charge against Graf, 53. A misdemeanor, it means that Morganelli will be unable to seek the death penalty for Graf, considering that the alleged sexual abuse occurred after — and not before — Padgett was killed.
Under Pennsylvania law, a murder in perpetration of a felony is an aggravating factor that allows prosecutors to pursue capital charges. Rape rises to that level, but the sexual desecration of a corpse does not, as case law has established, Morganelli said.
