Jessica Padgett, a Pennsylvania mother of three, was found murdered on her stepfather’s property, and he has been charged with her shooting death as well as abuse of a corpse.
Padgett was killed on November 21, but her body was not found until a week later. Her stepfather, Gregory Graf, admitted to state police that he killed Padgett in order to have sex with her body, which he reportedly filmed. He later hid her remains behind a shed near his home.
Graf recently asked a judge for a court-appointed attorney, saying he didn’t want to take money away from his family, but the judge denied his request.
“You’re not going to be able to escape paying for the resources of an attorney. I just can’t allow that,” said Judge Stephen Baratta.
Investigators have allegedly taken DNA from Graf to aid in the case against him for sexual abuse of a corpse, but because the assault took place after Padgett was dead, prosecutors cannot pursue the death penalty.
Police also confiscated several bags of marijuana at Graf’s home, where he reportedly had a grow operation, but it’s not clear whether he has been charged for that yet.