A man from the USA has been arrested after he raped and killed his ex-girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter and then hid her body in a basement freezer.
Jason Jerod Shackelford, aged 39, from the town of Columbia, in the state of Pennsylvania, USA, was detained and charged with one count of criminal homicide on Friday, 10th February.
The charges followed after he reportedly confessed to have raped and killed his ex-girlfriend’s daughter named Eliana Smith, aged, 12, at a home in the 500 block Avenue H on the night of 8th February into the morning of 9th February.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “He stated he attempted to conceal the victim’s body in a freezer in the basement.”
Shackelford was reportedly caught after cops from the East Lampeter Township Police Department responded to an emergency call at the Wyndham Lancaster Hotel for a domestic disturbance.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with the girl’s mother at around 6.30pm, who claimed that Shackelford had kidnapped her daughter from her home while she was working the night shift.
The mother told the cops that she and the 39-year-old man were going through a breakup and she had recently asked him to move out.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said: “[The mother] stated she received a text while at work around 6:35am on 9th February, from Shackelford saying [Eliana] was sick and in bed.
“[The mum] stated when she returned home from work around 7:45am, Shackelford and she got into an argument, and Shackelford showed her [Eliana’s] empty bed.
“Shackelford allegedly stated he took [Eliana] to New York, and she was safe.
“[The mother] stated Shackelford raped her before forcing her to leave to the Wyndham Lancaster hotel with him.”
The woman claimed that the offender had “used [Eliana’s] well-being as leverage” in order to sexually assault her again in the hotel, before he headed outside for a cigarette.
Only then the mother was finally able to tell hotel staff to call the police.
Following the arrest, Shackelford was transported to the Columbia Borough Police Department, where he was interviewed and confessed to raping and killing the girl.
After giving police the whereabouts of her body, they found her remains inside a chest freezer in the basement of the home.
Shackelford was booked into Lancaster County Prison.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said: “Additional charges may be filed pending the results of an autopsy and further investigation.”
