Police find dismembered body in delivery truck; two charged with murder

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A man and woman were charged for the death of a 69-year-old man whose body was found dismembered in a delivery truck.

Taray Herring of Northeast Philadelphia and his ex-girlfriend Jeannette Pace were served murder charges on Monday, March 29. This is in relation to the death of his former boss Peter Gerold, as per NBC Philadelphia last Monday, March 29.

One of Gerold’s neighbors called the police about a burglary in progress on Feb. 11. When officers responded to the call, they did not see the victim but did not think much of it after another neighbor told them that Gerold often traveled. The following morning, police received another call saying there was a suspicious truck near the home.

The truck was stopped by police officers as it was driving away from Gerold’s home. Its driver confessed that there was a body in his vehicle and told police he did not “want anything to do” with the crime, Philadelphia Inquirer reported, also on March 29. They found Gerold’s body stuffed inside a trash bag and also discovered that the man’s hands and feet were deep-fried and thrown into a nearby dumpster.

Herring, the truck’s passenger, said he was coming from a “lover’s house” and told officers he was paid $1,000 (about P48,000) to hide a body. Later on, he confessed that Gerold was killed in a failed robbery by his ex-girlfriend and her new partner Rafique McNichols.

Herring worked for the victim and took care of his exotic pets. He initially said he let Pace and McNichols into the victim’s home and left them there. He claimed that when he returned, his former boss was already bleeding from his head and unconscious. But he later recanted his statement and told detectives that the couple left him with Gerold’s body after they stole from him.

Meanwhile, Pace claimed that Herring broke into the home with her new boyfriend and took about $3,000 (more than P145,000) in cash. She added that Herring wanted her to sell some of the exotic pets Gerold owned.

Pace and McNichols were charged with burglary, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and related offenses for stealing. Herring was already held in jail for abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence prior to receiving his murder charge. Dana Cruz/JB

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