KEY POINTS

  • Donald Meshey Jr. was arrested after telling detectives he stabbed a "cadaver doll" and stored a human head in his freezer
  • He was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence
  • Police are still investigating the case and have yet to identify the victim

Police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania have arrested a man and charged him with homicide after he told officers he repeatedly stabbed a "cadaver doll" that had the likeness of his father and showed them that he had stored a human head inside his freezer.

Officers responded to an apartment located in West Strawberry Street shortly past 8:50 a.m. Wednesday after they received a report from an unnamed caller saying she was told there was a cadaver in one of the residence's beds and that there was a head in the freezer, the Lancaster City Bureau of Police said in a statement released later that day.

Upon making contact with patrol officers, the caller allegedly said she had just been inside the apartment and observed what she believed to be the head of one of her family members in the freezer.

Authorities then made contact with 32-year-old Donald Meshey Jr., who was one of the unit's residents and the person who had informed the caller of the situation, police said.

Meshey allegedly proceeded to escort an officer inside the apartment, specifically in the kitchen, where he proceeded to remove what appeared to be a human head from the freezer and showed it to the officer. The Lancaster County Coroner's Office later confirmed that the head from the freezer was a human head.

Authorities arrested Meshey and initiated an investigation, with Meshey admitting in an interview that he found what he described as a "cadaver doll" in his father's room "which looked and sounded like his father," according to the police statement.

Meshey allegedly told police he stabbed the "cadaver doll" with a knife for two to three minutes and then dismembered the body.

Detectives charged Meshey with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence before Magisterial District Judge Witkonis, police said. He is currently being held pending his arraignment.

Investigators are still confirming the identity of the victim, according to the statement. The Lancaster County Coroner's Office and the District Attorney's Office are assisting with the investigation.

Police are urging people with any knowledge of the incident to contact authorities to help in the investigation.

“Anyone with information related to this incident is urged to call Detective Ryan Burgett with the Lancaster City Police at (717) 735-3412 or Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913.”

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