Jury selection begins for Pennsylvania man accused of shooting his stepdaughter in the head before filming himself having sex with her corpse
- A video of Gregory Graf, 54, sexually abusing stepdaughter Erica Padgett's body was discovered on his computer, police said
- Padgett, 33, was discovered buried outside a shed on Graf's property five days after the mother-of-three was reported missing
- She had told coworkers she was going to his house to send a fax
- Graf admitted to killing Padgett after her body was found, police said
- Northampton County District attorney John Morganelli is fighting to block Graf's attorney from using a mental health defense
- Said Jack McMahon had missed the court-ordered October 1 deadline to submit expert testimony from a psychologist who examined Graf
Gregory Graf, 54, has been accused of killing his stepdaughter and then filming himself having sex with her corpse
Jury selection has begun in the case of a Pennsylvania man who allegedly shot his stepdaughter in the back of the head before he filmed himself having sex with her corpse.
The body of Jessica Padgett, 33, was found on the Northampton property of her stepfather Gregory Graf five days after she was reported missing just days before Thanksgiving last year.
Police said Graf, 54, admitted to killing the mother of three after her body was discovered. He has since been charged with homicide and abuse of a corpse and is being held without bail.
A video that showed Graf sexually abusing Padgett's body was discovered on his computer by authorities, according to Northampton County District attorney John Morganelli.
Morganelli has asked Judge Stephen Baratta to prohibit the Graf's attorney, Jack McMahon, from presenting any expert testimony for a mental-health defense when opening arguments begin next week.
The district attorney said McMahon was ordered by the court to turn in a report from a defense psychologist who examined Graf by October 1, according to The Morning Call.
Morganelli said he had not received the report three weeks after the deadline and that it has left the prosecution scarce time to decide if they need to find an expert psychologist of their own to evaluate Graf.
Padgett, a 33-year-old mother of three, was last seen alive on November 21, 2014. Her body was discovered five days later hidden behind a shed on Graf's Northampton, Pennsylvania property
The recently married Padgett had told coworkers at Duck Duck Goose Child Care she was heading to Graf's house to use his fax machine. Police said she was killed 10 minutes later
'We can't be surprised on the eve of the trial,' he said.
McMahon, a prominent defense attorney, is expected to argue a mental-health defense for his client.
Graf, a former fencing company owner, faces life in prison without parole if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
Because the alleged abuse occurred after Padgett was killed, Morganelli will not be able to seek the death penalty, according to Philly.com.
Under Pennsylvania law rape and murder allow prosecutors to purse capital charges but sexual desecration of a corpse does not.
Padgett was reported missing November 21, 2014, the same day she told coworkers at Duck Duck Goose Child Care that she was heading to her stepfather's house to use his fax machine.
Graf lived on the seven-acre property on Covered Bridge Road with Padgett's mother Danelle
Five days later she was found hidden under a pile of leaves behind a shed on the seven-acre property on Covered Bridge Road, where Graf lived with Padgett's mother Danelle.
While searching the couple's property, police found a pair of tan sandals that Danelle told them her husband 'always wore', according to The Morning Call.
Police found the straps in a basement garbage can, stained with what a chemical test revealed was blood.
They also seized 13 bags of marijuana and confiscated $42,000 in cash and envelopes containing marijuana seeds from a safe found in Graf's basement.
Danelle also told police Graf had called her that day to have their trash bin taken away.
Graf, who Padgett once described as her second father, married Danelle in 1997.
Just weeks before Padgett's murder, Danelle had filed for divorce.
Jury selection began on Monday for Graf's trial and opening arguments will be presented next week. Graf is pictured in a Facebook photo
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