DA: Necrophilia Was Motivation in Death of Missing Woman

The man charged in the death of Jessica Padgett, 33, had a particularly gruesome motive, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office now says.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said that Gregory R. Graf killed his stepdaughter in order to have sex with her body, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Padgett, 33, of Whitehall, went missing Nov. 21 from her job at Duck Duck Goose Child Care in Northampton, Patch reported in November. Police now believe that Graf shot Padgett in the head that day, and hid her body on his Allen Township property, The Morning Call said.

Graf was like “a second father” to Padgett, The Morning Call said.

The Northampton District Attorney’s Office found video evidence of Graf sexually abusing Padgett’s corpse, The Easton Express-Times reported. The video showed “a variety of sexual acts,” the Inquirer said.

Because it is clear that the “sexual assault occurred after she was dead,” Morganelli said, Graf will be charged with abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor, The Express-Times said.

Morganelli believes that the necrophilia was Graf’s “direct motive,” The Morning Call said. However, because abuse of corpse is a misdemeanor, the extra charge is not enough for Morganelli to seek the death penalty against Graf.

In addition to the abuse of corpse charge, Graf is charged with criminal homicide and possession with intent to deliver, after authorities found a large quantity of marijuana on his property, The Express-Times said.