Man set to stand trial on charges of killing, dismembering parents
One bag contained the elderly couple’s hands and feet, a blue grocery bag held their organs, and clear packing tape sealed the bag holding their heads, an Allegheny County detective testified Wednesday.
Frederick Harris III, 47, of Penn Hills will stand trial on charges that he killed and dismembered his mother and stepfather before stuffing those bags into trash cans in their garage.
He was charged Dec. 17 with two counts each of criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse, and District Justice Thomas Miller of Lincoln ordered Harris to be held on those charges at a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Penn Hills police responded to their Suncrest Drive home Dec. 16 to check on Mr. Harris’ mother, Olivia Gilbert, 73, and stepfather, Lamar Gilbert, 76, at the request of Mr. Harris’ sister, Officer Michael Lape testified.
There, police found no signs of forced entry and Mr. Harris in bed, though he would not communicate with police. While searching the home, they looked in a trash bag in the garage and found “what we believed to be a human body part,” Officer Lape said.
Six of seven garbage cans in the garage contained human body parts, Allegheny County homicide Detective Patrick Kinavey said. Parts of both bodies could not be located, assistant district attorney Lisa Pellegrini said.
Detective Kinavey said they also found human tissue and blood spatter in the basement, bottles of bleach, five kitchen knives that were bent or broken, and Home Depot receipts for four garbage cans purchased days earlier.
Surveillance camera recordings from the Home Depot stores in East Liberty and Monroeville show what prosecutors say is Mr. Harris purchasing the trash cans.
Public defender Carrie Allman questioned the officer and detective about how they entered the home and when they obtained a search warrant but opted to reserve her defense. She declined to comment after the hearing.
Mr. Harris is scheduled for a formal arraignment next month.