A man accused of stabbing the heart and lungs of his father, then cutting off his head and limbs originally put the body parts in garbage bags in the basement and a parked car, according to court records.
The next day, on Wednesday, Donald Meshey Jr., 32, told police he retrieved the head and put it in his freezer.
That’s where it was seen atop a white plate by a relative who had stopped by the home Wednesday morning in the 200 block of Strawberry Street.
Court records obtained by PennLive Thursday revealed new details about the grisly crime and a history of minor infractions filed against Meshey Jr. in recent years.
Earlier this year, a magisterial district judge in Lancaster County sentenced him to complete anger management counseling sessions after he pleaded guilty to shoving his sister into some boxes, but he failed to do so and instead had to pay the fines and court costs.
Police remained at the homicide scene Thursday inside the apartment roped off with yellow tape as they continued to collect evidence. Police Capt. Michael Winters said they hoped to finish gathering evidence and documenting the crime scene later on Thursday.
According to a police news release issued Wednesday night, Meshey said he found what he described as a “cadaver doll” early Tuesday in his father’s bed, which “looked and sounded like his father.”
Donald Lawrence Meshey Jr., 32, of Lancaster, Pa.
Photo provided by Lancaster Bureau of Police
According to court records:
Meshey told investigators that he stabbed the “cadaver doll” with an 8 to 9-inch knife for 2-3 minutes, then used a 3-foot saw to dismember the body.
Meshey put the arms, legs and head in a construction-sized garbage bag and put them in the basement. He said he put the torso in another large garbage bag and used a “hand truck” to take it outside and put it in a Lincoln Town Car.
The next day, after Meshey moved the head to the freezer, a relative saw the head and told police it “looked exactly” like a loved one. She called 911 just before 9 a.m. Police asked Meshey Jr. for a photo of the loved one; and police said the photo matched the head’s appearance.
Donald Meshey Sr., in his mid 60s, lived in that apartment on Strawberry Street since 1985. It’s not clear how long the son lived there but he had judgments filed against him at that address dating back to 2009. Police late Thursday identified the remains as belonging to Meshey, Sr.
Meshey Jr., who worked as a truck driver, pleaded guilty in May to the summary offense of harassment for shoving his sister into some boxes earlier this year and was given the option for an “alternate sentence” to avoid court costs and fines. He was supposed to complete at least six sessions of anger management counseling sessions by Aug. 4.
But he failed to do so and instead paid the full fines and fees. The sister told police she sustained minor injuries in the Feb. 12 incident at her home. A woman at her home Thursday declined to speak with PennLive.
In April, Meshey Jr. pleaded guilty to another citation of harassment for attacking a truck yard jockey at a Pepsi warehouse in Cumberland County.
In that case, the jockey told police he knocked on the side of a truck that was parked at the fuel pumps to tell the driver to move forward.
He began walking away from the truck and then was attacked from behind by a man later identified as Meshey Jr.
The attacker punched him in the lower back, shoulders and face while shouting something like: “Can’t you let a man sleep?”
Another yard jockey witnessed the assault, according to court records. When the second employee approached, the truck driver fled the yard, according to court records.
Police interviewed Meshey Jr. later that day by phone and he admitted to physically assaulting the yard jockey but said it was because he pushed him.
The officer asked Meshey how he was pushed and Meshey Jr. responded that he did not know. “He was just pushed,” according to court records.
Meshey also pleaded guilty in 2019 to criminal mischief for damaging property after driving through the gate at a transportation center in Delaware County and leaving the scene.
The presentation of a severed head to Lancaster police led to homicide charges being filed against 32-year-old Donald Meshey Jr., police said. Investigators have accused Meshey of killing and dismembering a person in his apartment.
A woman who grew up with Meshey Jr. stopped by the crime scene Thursday after hearing the unsettling news. She told PennLive she was shocked to hear Meshey — who she had not talked to in years — allegedly stabbed someone to death and cut up his body.
Neighbors declined to be interviewed Thursday morning by PennLive or other news outlets at the scene. They expressed horror and disbelief that such a horrific crime could have possibly occurred on their quiet city street.
Crime scene tap stretched around all sides of the building, and a side door stood open, revealing an apartment door and a set of stairs.
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