Jessica Padgett: Abuse of corpse charges, stepdad filmed sex with Padgett's body

Jessica Padgett, a 33-year-old Pennsylvania woman, was last seen on Nov. 21. when she left her job at a daycare center. Five days later, Jessica’s stepfather was placed under arrest after police discovered her body buried behind a shed on the property owned by Padgett’s mother. Grisly details are now being revealed, including an “abuse of corpse” charge logged against the accused 53-year-old.

Writes People.com on Dec. 7: “Necrophilia motivated a man to fatally shoot his stepdaughter last month, according to a Pennsylvania prosecutor. Gregory Graf recorded himself sexually abusing the body of Jessica Padgett, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Friday. The video was discovered a day earlier on Graf's computer, the prosecutor said.”

Graf, from Allen Township, was charged with misdemeanor necrophilia to go along with the previous murder charge. He has been jailed at the Northampton County Prison since late November. On Nov. 21, Padgett left her work, telling her fellow employees that she had to use a fax machine at her mother’s house, located nearby. She never returned.

After being interviewed and showing an inability to resolve “unexplained inconsistencies,” Graf admitted to shooting Padgett in the head and burying her body. Before he did so, he violated the corpse – and filmed himself doing so. The tape was turned over to investigators.

“We know she died of a gunshot wound and we haven't excluded necrophilia as a possible motive in the killing,” said Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. “His possible motive was to have a sexual relationship with the body.”

Adds CBS News: “Officials said Wednesday afternoon that they believe Graf killed Padgett in his home and then drove her vehicle to the dollar store parking lot where he retrieved his own vehicle, which he had parked there earlier. Authorities say they are working to determine whether the murder was premeditated. Padgett's mother was away in Florida at the time of the murder, according to police.”

Padgett was a mother of two. Her family released a statement, which read in part: “She was a beautiful, vibrant young woman who was loved by her family and friends. The world shines less bright today.”