A 41-year-old murder suspect allegedly made his wife and son use a chainsaw to “chop up” the body of his victim and dispose of it before he fled to Canada, PEOPLE reported.
In a statement, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office of New Jersey said that the remains of the victim, identified as 48-year-old Harold “Hal” Miller Jr., are still missing.
Authorities said that Miller was reported missing on June 14, 2025, adding that the deceased victim and his friends had been playing cards in Camden on the morning of June 12. Authorities also said that Miller’s vehicle was later found unoccupied on June 14.
“During the investigation, detectives located surveillance video and cell phone data that showed Miller entered a residence on the 2600 block of Baird Boulevard in Camden shortly before 11:30 a.m. on June 12, 2025. Moments later, the video footage captured the sound of what appeared to be a single gunshot. Miller was never seen leaving the property,” the statement said.
Authorities said that the surveillance footage later showed the suspect, identified as Everton Thomas, driving the deceased victim’s vehicle and leaving it at the location where it was ultimately found.
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Authorities also established that Thomas’ wife, Sherrie Parker, 41, and his son, Deshawn Thomas, 22, later purchased a chainsaw, containers, trash bags, and other cleaning supplies after “Miller was observing entering the residence, but never exiting it.”
“Additionally, surveillance video showed Everton Thomas and Dashawn Thomas making several trips to the Tamarack Apartments dumpsters and loading containers and trash bags into a vehicle before leaving the city.”
The statement added: “On June 20, 2025, detectives conducted a search of the defendants’ residence. Everton Thomas was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm on his person. The firearm had one round in the chamber, with nine rounds in a ten-round magazine. Detectives recovered suspected bloodstains inside the residence.”
Thomas is said to have fled to Canada the next day. “As the investigation continued, subsequent forensic testing confirmed Harold Miller Jr. was the source of the DNA from the bloodstains found at the defendants’ residence.”
Thomas was ultimately arrested on a commercial bus on September 8 at the Port of Buffalo, New York, after he returned to the United States from Canada.
Thomas has since been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree desecration of human remains, and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence. His wife and son have also been charged with second-degree desecration of human remains and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence.
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