DaShawn Watkins (Pennsylvania State Police), Pauly Likens Jr. (GoFundMe) and the area where her dismembered remains were discovered (WFMJ screenshot)
A 29-year-old man in Pennsylvania has been arrested for allegedly killing and dismembering a 14-year-old who had been missing since late June.
DaShawn Watkins was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the slaying of young Pauly A. Likens, Jr., records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, officers with the Hermitage Police Department on June 25 responded to a call regarding possible human remains being found in the Shengano River Lake in Clark Borough, which is about 75 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they recovered human remains that were at least partially submerged in the lake water. Local police requested the assistance of Pennsylvania State Police and PSP detectives took control of the investigation. Mercer County Coroner John A. Libonati on July 3 confirmed that the remains recovered from Shengano River Lake belonged to Pauly.
A forensic pathologist with the coroner’s office performed an autopsy and determined that Pauly’s manner of death was a homicide and her cause of death was sharp force trauma to the head. Additionally, evidence indicated that Pauly was dismembered with a “cutting instrument.”
