The driveway where a man’s dismembered legs were found in April 2024 (Google Maps). Inset left to right: Edgar Keiter, Jr., Amanda Reiff, Tygan Keiter (Montgomery County Jail).
A septuagenarian grandfather in Ohio was recently dismembered and then scattered and secreted away by his family, police say.
Law enforcement are not currently sure when exactly, or how exactly, Edgar Keiter Sr., 75, died.
On April 22, the dead man’s legs were found in one or two trash bags at the end of a driveway on Old Dayton Road in Trotwood — a medium-sized suburb located roughly seven miles northwest of Dayton.
Investigators have slowly put the case together since then.
“My friend was leaving … and said he found a couple of trash bags at the end of a driveway … and later,” a text to Montgomery County Regional 911 obtained by Dayton-based CBS affiliate WHIO reads. “Sorry, my roommate said they’re human legs.”
Police also reportedly found a dryer sheet covered in blood, a clean dryer sheet, and a bottle with red and green residue. The legs themselves, however, were bloodless at the time of the discovery.
The victim was eventually identified by a serial number on a knee replacement in one of the legs, Kettering Police Chief Christopher “Chip” Protsman told the Dayton Daily News.
On April 26, investigators searched an apartment on Croftshire Drive in Kettering — a southern suburb of Dayton some 15 miles away from where the legs were found. The apartment belonged to the dismembered man, Protsman said.
Inside the apartment, the carpet had been removed — along with the stove, refrigerator, and air conditioner — and the floor appeared to have recently been cleaned with bleach, police said. The next day, police returned to take stock of the missing appliances and a criminal damaging complaint was filed after speaking with the landlord.
In the days that followed, neighbors allegedly told law enforcement the victim’s son, Edgar S. Keiter Jr., 52, had recently been seen cleaning out his father’s apartment and driving his father’s vehicle.
On May 1, investigators connected the two crime scenes to a storage unit on Guenther Road in northwest Dayton — just a few miles away from where the trash bags were found. Inside, the rest of the man’s remains were found, Montgomery County officials said.
That storage unit was being rented by someone not in the Keiter family — but the lessee allegedly told police Keiter Jr. had asked them to rent it on his behalf. The man’s son was arrested that same day.
Also on May 1, the dismembered man’s pickup truck was found in Fairborn — a city 13 miles northwest of Dayton — with two people inside. Law enforcement do not appear to believe the people found inside the truck were related to the dismemberment case.
On May 10, Keiter Jr. was indicted on one count each of gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and theft over $1,000 but less than $7,500, according to Montgomery County jail records.
On May 29, the son’s girlfriend, Amanda Reiff, 40, was charged with one count each of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
“The defendant is heard calling Jr. ‘honey’ when he is gagging in the storage unit due to the odor,” court documents obtained by WHIO allege.
The woman allegedly went on to tell police that Keiter Jr. stabbed his father before transporting his body to the storage unit.
On July 18, the dismembered man’s grandson, Tygan Keiter, 23, was charged with three counts of tampering with evidence.
The grandson stands accused of using his grandfather’s cellular phone after he died in order to make it seem as if he were still alive, police allege, according to court documents obtained by WHIO.
The youngest Keiter allegedly told a detective he had previously spoken with his father about “trying to make Keiter Sr. put Tygan on his will,” according to a statement of facts filed in the case. During the ensuing conversation, Keiter Jr. allegedly threatened Keiter Sr. with death over the estate planning request.
Tygan Keiter said he later went to his grandfather’s residence and found him dead on the floor “with a knife through his chest,” police allege.
The victim’s grandson is not accused of any violence or of taking part in the dismemberment. And, police say, while his name frequently came up during the investigation, he ultimately incriminated himself in the alleged cover-up during a voluntary interview earlier this month.
“He wanted to start a business and grandpa was not good with that,” Kettering Police Sgt. Vince Mason told WHIO. “Keiter Jr. said ‘I’m gonna go and talk to grandpa and take care of this.’”
No murder charges have been filed in the case as of this writing.
All three defendants are currently in custody.
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