For the second time in a week, a suspect has been arrested after stuffing a dead body in a garbage can.
John Meadows, 58, of Williamsburg, was arrested by the Williamsburg Police Department and charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence after being accused of killing his girlfriend, 56-year-old Donna G. Lay, of Williamsburg, and stuffing her lifeless body in a garbage can.
Lay, who was reported missing on January 27 and was last been seen on January 7, died as a result of a homicide, according to Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley. Croley added that the cause of death is “pending further investigation.”
On Monday, police obtained and executed a search warrant at the apartment Meadows and Lay shared and found a “sealed” garbage can with Lay’s body inside.
Meadows is being held in the Whitley County Detention Center.
Officials continue to search for Lay’s family, Croley said. She is thought to be from Bowling Green but had lived in Whitley County for many years.
On January 26, the Nicholasville Police Department arrested 34-year-old Clay Phillips and 34-year-old Tawna Miller, both of Nicholasville, and charged each with abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
According to Nicholas PD Sgt. Kevin Grimes, the couple allowed a man to sleep on their couch and when they awoke, they found the man had died.
The couple then brought a large garbage can inside their Strawberry Lane home, undressed the decedent, and placed him in the garbage can. According to police, the couple left the garbage can containing the body in their living room.
Phillips and Miller then drove the man’s truck to a Home Place Inn and parked the vehicle in the hotel’s parking lot in an attempt to hide the death.
Although a cause of death has not been determined, Grimes told the Jessamine Journal, “There was probably drug usage involved” in the man’s death. The body did not appear to have experienced trauma.
As of Wednesday morning, the deceased man had not been identified.
Phillips and Miller, who police said do not have serious criminal histories, are lodged in Jessamine County Detention Center.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
