Steve Goslaw had a new Vogel Disposal Service garbage can delivered Tuesday after, according to Butler police, 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 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 identified as Philip Schiedel — inside.

“I thought he was kidding,” Goslaw said.

Then, he saw news reports saying Cavell Watkins, 64, of Butler, had been charged with felony possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and misdemeanor abuse of corpse following 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 Disposal on Monday and asked for a replacement garbage can. The company asked him to prove it was stolen to avoid paying a $95 fee, which is when he sent the security video.

Vogel Disposal 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 barcode associated with the customer.

Goslaw said he believes police contacted the company and used the barcode 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.

The company removed the $95 charge from Goslaw’s account when they were informed what happened, he said.

Charmaine Fetterman, who owns Bellissimo Catering and cooks for Sons and Daughters of Italy, said she was distraught when she heard about the disregard for human life demonstrated by putting remains in a trash can.

“It is so sad what our city is going through,” Fetterman said. “When I read that, I couldn’t believe it.”

Fetterman said she was raised on Elm Street and now resides on Patterson Avenue in the South Hills of Butler. Her grandparents lived on Diamond Street when she was growing up.

“There was pride in the neighborhood,” she said.

Fetterman recalled how her parents allowed her to play outside in the parking garages as a kid. As an adult, she said she wouldn’t allow her parents to go to Rite Aid when it was on Main Street.

“The drug problem that we have now, it is so out of hand and so out of control,” she said.

Still, no matter how bad crime gets, Fetterman said she doesn’t think she could uproot herself from Butler.

“I can’t give up on it,” she 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 he had no further plans regarding what to do with Schiedel’s body and said his actions stemmed from fear regarding the man’s death.

Watkins is being held in Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for 8:45 a.m. July 13 before District Judge William Fullerton.