A Georgia man has been charged with homicide after police say he caused his brother-in-law’s death and hid the body under an 18-wheeler in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood.
Steven Thomas, 52, of Statesboro, Ga., is charged with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
At 8:29 p.m. Monday, dispatchers were notified that there was a dead male body under an 18-wheeler behind the Shop ’n Save grocery store at 1119 Brownsville Road in Carrick, according to the criminal complaint filed against Thomas.
On Tuesday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner determined that the man, Vaughan Leroy, died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head, the complaint said.
Later that day, Pittsburgh police interviewed Leroy’s wife and her brother, Thomas, at their Carrick home. They told police they had not seen Leroy since Feb. 27, the complaint said.
Thomas admitted to police that he had a confrontation with Leroy at around noon on Feb. 27, the complaint said. Thomas said Leroy was yelling obscenities at him, and Thomas pushed Leroy backward, causing him to fall, the complaint said. Thomas told police he believed Leroy hit his head off the wall or the stair climber.
Thomas said Leroy was bleeding, and that he stopped breathing, the complaint said. Thomas told police he put Leroy’s body in a duffel bag and dumped the body under the trailer, near the home.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled March 13 at Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
