Suspect charged in gruesome murder and dismemberment of Pennsylvania transgender teen
CNN
A suspect is facing murder and other charges after the remains of a transgender teen who had been missing in Pennsylvania since late June were found in a lake, according to a criminal complaint.
A suspect is facing murder and other charges after the remains of a transgender teen who had been missing in Pennsylvania since late June were found in a lake, according to a criminal complaint. Dashawn Watkins, 29, has been charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of 14-year-old Pauly Likens of Sharon, Pennsylvania, police said in a complaint filed in Mercer County District Court. CNN has reached out to Watkins’ attorney for comment but has not yet received a response. If convicted, Watkins could face the death penalty or life in prison, according to Pennsylvania state law. Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker told CNN at this point investigators have not found any evidence that suggests Likens’ murder was a hate crime. However, investigators are also not ruling out the possibility, and if anyone has evidence that would suggest this is a hate crime, he said, authorities will investigate it. Likens’ relatives had been searching for the teen for several days when police began finding dismembered human remains in and near the Shenango River Lake in Mercer County, the criminal complaint said. Mercer County Coroner John A. Libonati said in a July 3 statement the remains belonged to Likens.
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