Keshaun Sheffield Charged In 2019 Murder Where Unidentified Body Found Buried In Philadelphia's Awbury Arboretum
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A 20-year-old has been charged in a 2019 Philadelphia case of an unidentified body found buried in Philadelphia's Awbury Arboretum, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Wednesday. Authorities charged Keshaun Sheffield in the August 2019 murder of 22-year-old Rashid Young inside Young's Pottstown apartment on High Street.
"Since 2019, the family of 22-year-old Rashid Young has been searching for answers, answers to what happened to their son, their brother," DA Kevin Steele said.
Remains of Young's body were then found inside a sack by a groundskeeper at Awbury Arboretum in Philadelphia in September 2019 and remained unidentified until recent information uncovered by Montgomery County detectives led to the identification through dental records.
An investigation into the murder began two weeks ago after a private investigator, hired by Young's family, requested that authorities looked into Young's disappearance which was reported in December 2019.
A confidential informant, cellphone records and other investigative means helped detectives determine the two were in a romantic relationship for two years when Young went missing.
Police were first called to the Pottstown apartment for a report of water coming from the apartment and after forcing entry, officers found the apartment appeared to be intentionally flooded. It had holes in the walls, broken doors and trash strewn throughout, authorities say.
Homicide investigators determined that Sheffield stabbed Young to death in his apartment before transporting the body in a Pottstown Borough Recycling Container to a house in Philadelphia where he lived with his mother. He then dug a hole at Awbury Arboretum with help from a friend and later returned and buried the body.
Sheffield reportedly kept up with Young's social media accounts and used his cellphone to communicate with Young's family in an effort to make it look like he was still alive from August to December.
He also made numerous withdrawals from the victim's $2 million trust fund prior to when Young was declared missing.
Sheffield was charged with first-degree murder and other related charges.
He turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday morning. There is no available bail for first-degree murder charges.
CBS3's Matt Petrillo will have the latest on this story beginning at 4 p.m. on Eyewitness News.