Oil City man charged with killing boy, hiding body in bag

An Oil City man is accused of killing his girlfriend’s child and hiding the boy in a canvas bag in his basement, according to charges filed against him.

Trevaughn Lee Glenn Stribling-Jackson, 24, was charged Thursday with homicide, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and concealing the whereabouts of a child.

The criminal complaint against Stribling-Jackson does not give the age of the boy or his name, but the aggravated assault charge specifies he was under the age of 13.

The boy’s mother reported her son missing Wednesday after she returned from work shortly after 11 p.m. and discovered her son wasn’t there. She told officers she’d left the child in Stribling-Jackson’s care and last saw him when she left for work about 2:30 p.m., according to the complaint.

Stribling-Jackson told the child’s mother he’d sent the boy to Erie with a cousin, police said, but he would not give her the name or contact information for the cousin who he said had the boy.

The woman told investigators that when she got home from work, she found her boyfriend doing laundry — something he never did, according to the complaint. She said a tan air mattress bag was missing and there was blood on the box spring under the air mattress.

She also told police she’d seen Stribling-Jackson hit the boy in the past, according to the complaint. She’d recently noticed bruises around his ribcage but was told he’d fallen down the stairs.

Investigators found the boy dead inside a canvas air mattress bag that had been stashed under a makeshift table in the couple’s basement, according to the complaint. The child had injuries to his head and face.

Police said Stribling-Jackson told investigators he knew nothing about the boy’s disappearance or death. He also denied saying he’d sent the child to Erie.

Stribling-Jackson was denied bail and remains in the Venango County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3.