Two Schuylkill County men remain behind bars in Dauphin County today, charged with abusing a corpse and evidence tampering.
William Allen, 24, from Pottsville, and Kyle Knapp, 19, from Shenandoah, are accused of dumping a Girardville man’s body at Seal Park in Millersburg, Dauphin County on Monday evening.
Here are mug shots from the Dauphin County Prison, where each is being held:
William Allen
Kyle Knapp
Schuylkill County Man Dumped in Millersburg Park
State Police in Lykens say Allen and Knapp drove 23-year-old Steven Middleton, of Girardville, to Seal Park, near Millersburg Area Middle School, and dumped his body there.
The two then concocted a story that didn’t add up for police and landed them in jail.
At about 7 p.m. on Monday, police say Allen called 9-1-1 to say there was an unresponsive man, Middleton, in Seal Park.
A local fire department and EMS team arrived at the scene. They determined that Middleton had died.
State Police began its investigation. In addition to interviewing Allen, Knapp, and others, police gathered some physical evidence from the scene and looked at video surveillance footage from nearby Millersburg businesses.
Police say their investigation revealed that Allen didn’t find Middleton in the park. Instead, he and Knapp drove the Girardville man to the park and took him out of the vehicle they drove, a 2019 Nissan Rogue, and put his body there.
Allen and Knapp then told police a fake story about how Middleton died and what led to them calling 9-1-1 with a bogus story.
Autopsy Results Inconclusive
On Tuesday morning, the Dauphin County Coroner’s office completed an autopsy on Middleton. But as of this story going live, that investigation couldn’t determine a cause of death. Middleton’s cause of death remains “undetermined”, police report.
Allen, Knapp in Dauphin County Prison
Both Allen and Knapp were arraigned Tuesday and sent to Dauphin County Prison. At last check, each is still incarcerated there.
Allen is held on $100,000 bail and Knapp at $50,000.
Both have a preliminary hearing scheduled before District Judge Rebecca Jo Margerum on July 6 at 12:30 p.m.
Allen and Knapp each face a charge of Abuse of Corpse and Evidence Tampering (each a Misdemeanor-2).
Witnesses?
If you saw anything related to this incident or have video footage to share that may be related to this case, State Police and the Criminal Investigation Unit ask you call 717-362-8700 with information. You can also send a text message with your information to the CIU Tip Line at 717-943-5402.
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