Jewelry store owner recounts how his garbage can was stolen to store a corpse
Steve Goslaw had a new Vogel garbage can delivered Tuesday after his was stolen to store a corpse in an apartment in the 200 block of Butler’s North Main Street.
The owner of Robert Stephens Custom Jewelers didn’t know why his trash can was stolen until Butler police came to visit him that morning. He said he told police about the stolen can, and officers told him they found it in a nearby apartment with a dead man — later idenitified as Philip Schiedel — inside.
“I thought he was kidding,” Goslaw said.
Then, he saw the news reports that Cavell Watkins, 64, of Butler, had been charged with felony possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and misdemeanor abuse or corpse following the discovery of the corpse. Police said Scheidel and Watkins used crack cocaine together at the apartment.
Goslaw said an employee notified him Friday that a trash can from the building’s back lot was missing. His wife checked the security camera and saw a man, later identified as Watkins, inspecting it, then wheeling it away just before 7:30 a.m. Friday.
“I thought someone ran it over with a car or something,” Goslaw said.
He said he called Vogel on Monday and asked for a replacement garbage can. Vogel asked him to prove it was stolen to avoid paying a $95 fee, which is when he sent them the security video.
Vogel then sent a representative to search the area for the trash can, believing it would stick out, before providing a replacement. Goslaw said each can has a bar code associated with the customer.
Goslaw said he believes police contacted Vogel and used the bar code to connect the garbage can to him, which Goslaw believed — along with his security video — was how Butler police quickly reached their conclusion. He worried a murderer was on the loose after he suspected his garbage can was involved.
Vogel removed the $95 charge from Goslaw’s account when they were informed what happened, he said.
Watkins told police he left Schiedel the apartment for about 40 minutes, and when he returned, he found Schiedel unresponsive in the bedroom. He told police he attempted CPR but left the apartment after realizing Schiedel was dead.
Watkins estimated this took place Wednesday or Thursday the week prior, police said.
Watkins told police he covered Schiedel’s body with a sheet, but due to the smell, he took a trash can from a building on East New Castle Street to put the body in.
Watkins told police that he had no further plans regarding what to do with Schiedel and said his actions stemmed from fear regarding his death.
Watkins is being held in Butler County Prison on a $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for 8:45 a.m. July 13 before District Judge William Fullerton.
