Necrophilia Motivated Stepdad in Killing: Official

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.

Padgett, 33, was last seen alive on Nov. 21, when she left work at a day care center. Graf was arrested five days later after police found her body buried behind a shed on the property where he lives with Padgett's mother.

Graf, 53, is being held without bail on a homicide charge. The fencing company owner confessed to killing Padgett, a recently married mother of three, according to Morganelli.

The victim's family said in a statement last month that Padgett "was a beautiful, vibrant young woman who was beloved by her family and friends. The world shines less bright today."

Graf applied for a public defender, saying in court Friday that he didn't want to burden his family financially. A judge turned him down, ruling he had enough money to pay for his own defense.

Morganelli said Graf will be charged with abuse of a corpse.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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