6 accused of torturing, killing woman found in trash can
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Joy Burkholder, with her husband Lance in the background, talks about her sister, Jennifer Daugherty, whose body was discovered Thursday at Greensburg Salem Middle School. -
Floria Headen talks outside of her first floor apartment, at 428 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg, about the noises she heard from the second-floor unit. She said she called police Tuesday night, and police arrived but "did nothing."
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Police have charged six people in the death of a woman whose tortured body was found in a plastic garbage container in a Greensburg school parking lot, and her family today said her attackers took advantage of her trusting nature.
Police say Jennifer Daugherty, of Mount Pleasant, was stabbed repeatedly in a second-floor Greensburg apartment where some of the suspects live.
According to police, Ms. Daugherty's hair was shaved and she was bound with Christmas decorations and clothing. Police say she was beaten, her face painted with nail polish and she was fed vegetable oil, spices, detergent, urine and medications.
They say she was also forced to write a suicide note.
Her body was found Thursday at Greensburg Salem Middle School.
Court records show the suspects are: Robert L. Masters Jr., 36, of Greensburg; Ricky V. Smyrnes, 23, of Greensburg; Melvin Knight, 20, of Greensburg; Amber C. Meidinger, 20, of Greensburg; Peggy D. Miller, age unknown, of Mount Pleasant; and Angela Marinucci, 17, of Greensburg.
All are charged with homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and two counts of criminal conspiracy.
Ms. Daugherty's family said at a press conference this afternoon that she had a mental disability that made her friendly and trusting, and she unknowingly walked into harm's way.
"She was exploited," said Ms. Daugherty's older sister, Joy Burkholder. "Her kindness and her handicap made her very, very vulnerable. She trusted anybody. If you met her today she would be your best friend for life."
Mrs. Burkholder, who spoke with her husband, Lance, said her sister liked wrestling and college football, dancing and singing.
"She believed everyone was good and no one would hurt her."
Ms. Daugherty's relatives said she went to Greensburg Monday to visit people she thought were friends. Though some of their names were familiar, Ms. Burkholder said she was not sure of their relationship to her sister. Police said she had a social life and other appointments that took her to Greensburg frequently.
"She was very secretive about her Greensburg life," Ms. Burkholder said.
First Published February 12, 2010 10:44 am
