Ohio man accused of discarding dismembered woman's body in barrel
10/19/2020 12:54 pm PDT
By Kim Schupp, WXIX
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WXIX) -- A man who admitted to authorities that he had dismembered a woman's body before placing it in a barrel behind a Middletown home on June 30 has been indicted for murder.
William Slaton, 35, was charged with murder, felonious assault, four counts of tampering with evidence, three counts of gross abuse of a corpse, involuntary manslaughter, assault, and failure to report a crime.
Officers were called to the house in the 3200 block of Yankee Road to investigate a report of a female inside a barrel at that address. At the house, officers made contact with Slaton, who then went to the back of the house and “tossed a barrel over the fence,” a release from the department stated. Officers found the dead body of 21-year-old Cecily Cornett.
According to the arrest report, Slaton admitted to being at the residence with Cornett. He said after using narcotics, he woke up and went to the basement where he found her hanging.
“Slaton stated that he then used a sharp object to cut off all the victim's fingers. He then used a razor knife to cut off all of the victim's tattoos on her body. He put the items in a sealed bowl and hid the fingers and skin in the basement,” the arrest report states.
The Butler County Journal-News reports Cornett's body was found in a metal drum.
The Dayton Daily News reports when police searched Slaton's residence on June 30, they seized a hatchet, a book titled “Sex Crimes,” a brown leather belt, a video camera, tapes, a necklace, an extension cord, cellphones, Social Security cards, credit cards and a pink wallet, according to court documents.
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