GUILTY PA - Jessica Padgett, 32, Northampton County, 21 November 2014

[Madeleine74]

This case has aspects of it that bring to mind a couple other killers:

- Austin Sigg (killer of 10 yr old Jessica Ridgeway of Co)
- Colonel Russell Williams (Canada), who broke into womens' homes and in 2 of the cases video'd himself raping his victims.


Sounds like this Graf sicko spilled the beans immediately upon being interrogated and gave enough details that it matched exactly what LE found. Didn't seem like he was trying very hard to get away with it once they had him in their sights.

What gets me beyond the level of sheer sickness is the absolute betrayal in who he picked for his victim. Not some stranger, which would have been awful for sure, but his own stepdaughter, who he knew since she was still a girl, and who he knew was beloved by everyone, and he knew how devastated his wife and his other family members would be at her fate. The cruelty of that takes it to another level, even beyond the acts he committed. How does one ever get beyond that kind of betrayal?

 

[newone]

I debated whether or not to post this link here, as it doesn't relate to this case at all, but I think there's quite a bit of educational info in it. It's an essay written by a local forensic pathologist here in the area (Northeastern PA) who is a professor at De Sales University. Her name is Katherine Ramsland and she has written many, many books relating to serial killers, disorders, criminals, and psychiatric info about all of the above, plus much more. I've attended a few of her lectures, have read several of her books, and even went on a "ghost hunt" once with herself and a group after a lecture about spirits. She's a decent source of info. I'm posting this because, like so many others, I have been somewhat damaged by this case, and am having a hard time fully grasping it. I thought maybe educating myself a little better about these bizarre sorts of "disorders" (and I use that term very loosely) might help me better process this, and maybe down the line have good info at hand if there's ever another tragedy of this caliber. For those that would rather skip the serial killer sections and other stomach turning things, she goes more into depth on necrophilia in a clinical sense around page 9.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/necrophiles/index_1.html

Editing to add: this is a very graphic essay. Parts of it can be a bit disturbing, just so those that would rather not read that sort of thing are aware.

bbm: me too! Thank you for the link. I found it very 'enlightening' about this very somber 'perversion' . Necrophilic homocide should be included in the death penalty category (MOO) in those states that consider s/a + murder in death penalty. As pointed out upthread PA won't be seeking death penalty given that the s/a occurred post mortem. I hope that legislators see the folly of the ''cart before the horse'' argument in this case.

What I found most interesting was that one of the factors of the necrophiliacs is often they are unable to consummate the 'act' with a living person.

 

[NWLady]

What this man did is so sickening, so twisted, so unreal, that it is almost unbelievable. I feel so sorry for her family and her friends (especially her husband and children). However, IMO, hunter or not, to me, has nothing to do with it. He is a sick, twisted, individual (don't want time out so am refraining from what I'd really like to call him!) Maybe he did get enjoyment from killing animals, we don't know. IMO, it's difficult to judge that from even his FB pictures with his animals that he has hunted as most avid hunters take pride in the game/trophies they bring in. Being married to an avid hunter for 30 plus years who is 65 and who started hunting with his father at age 5, I can reassure you that just because someone is an avid hunter, avid fisherman, avid outdoors person, etc. does not make them more prone to wanting to take humans lives, nor does being a hunter mean that they enjoy killing things, but rather they enjoy the hunt, the challenge, the being outdoors, the skill and work involved, etc etc etc

 

[newone]

What this man did is so sickening, so twisted, so unreal, that it is almost unbelievable. I feel so sorry for her family and her friends (especially her husband and children). However, IMO, hunter or not, to me, has nothing to do with it. He is a sick, twisted, individual (don't want time out so am refraining from what I'd really like to call him!) Maybe he did get enjoyment from killing animals, we don't know. IMO, it's difficult to judge that from even his FB pictures with his animals that he has hunted as most avid hunters take pride in the game/trophies they bring in. Being married to an avid hunter for 30 plus years who is 65 and who started hunting with his father at age 5, I can reassure you that just because someone is an avid hunter, avid fisherman, avid outdoors person, etc. does not make them more prone to wanting to take humans lives, nor does being a hunter mean that they enjoy killing things, but rather they enjoy the hunt, the challenge, the being outdoors, the skill and work involved, etc etc etc

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/necrophiles/index_1.html

it's a long study but scarily enough a few of the necrophiles started out with getting aroused after they had killed animals and progressed from gratification w/animals ((too graphic sorry))-----> people --

It's a huge leap from that to average everyday hunters for sure.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

I bet his computer history and contents will provide a lot of disturbing info.

 

[steelman]

Pennsylvania man killed stepdaughter so he could film himself having sex with corpse: prosecutor

Police discovered video of Gregory Graf sexually abusing the body of his 33-year-old stepdaughter, Jessica Padgett, after they charged him in her death. A Pennsylvania prosecutor said necrophilia motivated Graf to shoot the woman last month.

Graf applied for a public defender, saying in court Friday that he didn't want to burden his family financially. A judge turned him down, ruling he had enough money to pay for his own defense.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/pa-man-killed-stepdaughter-sex-corpse-lawyer-article-1.2036207

 

[steelman]

A Pennsylvania man is accused of murdering and then burying his adult stepdaughter on his property before leading desperate searchers on a wild goose chase across his 7-acre property, where authorities eventually found the woman buried behind his shed, police said.

Padgett was last seen just before 1 p.m. Friday in Northampton, where she worked at a daycare center.
She left her 2-year-old son there while she ran an errand, but her car returned minutes later and someone, later determined to be Graf, exited the vehicle. His pickup truck left soon after. Police later learned his story — that he was in town to have the vehicle serviced — was a lie.

Authorities found the body early Wednesday, after a frantic search of nearly five days, and Graf admitted to the killing during an interview at police barracks later that morning, police said.

Cops say Graf, an avid hunter, shot his stepdaughter inside the home, using one of “numerous” firearms found at the residence, The Morning Call reported.

Padgett’s mother, Danelle, was in Florida at the time of the shooting.

Padgett was a mother of three and, according to her Facebook page, was married Aug. 1.
She appeared to have a good relationship with Graf, one of her “2 dads” she wrote about in a March 2011 post.
“Some people have 2 dads and I love both of mine VERY much,” she wrote. “Love you Daddy and Greg!!”

Graf, held without bail at Northampton County Prison, has convictions for theft dating to the 1980s and spent months in prison in 1995 after convictions for possession with intent to deliver drugs and conspiracy.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ls-buries-stepdaughter-cops-article-1.2025955

 

[rollinginit]

Just when you think this case can get no worse.

My heart breaks so much for her family!

 

[sophiebelle]

Is this twisted man on his way to an insanity plea? We have no idea what he's said up til now. He could be sitting in jail coming up with a story that gets worse every day. Jessica's family can't properly grieve with all the ugly staying in the news. I'm glad he told where Jessica was, but I don't get the fact that he started telling all the details right then!

 

[Ontario Mom]

This case has aspects of it that bring to mind a couple other killers:

- Austin Sigg (killer of 10 yr old Jessica Ridgeway of Co)
- Colonel Russell Williams (Canada), who broke into womens' homes and in 2 of the cases video'd himself raping his victims.


Sounds like this Graf sicko spilled the beans immediately upon being interrogated and gave enough details that it matched exactly what LE found. Didn't seem like he was trying very hard to get away with it once they had him in their sights.

What gets me beyond the level of sheer sickness is the absolute betrayal in who he picked for his victim. Not some stranger, which would have been awful for sure, but his own stepdaughter, who he knew since she was still a girl, and who he knew was beloved by everyone, and he knew how devastated his wife and his other family members would be at her fate. The cruelty of that takes it to another level, even beyond the acts he committed. How does one ever get beyond that kind of betrayal?

I don't think you do, I think you just figure out ways of coping with it (with the help of trained professionals and probably years of counselling).

 

[shelbar53]

I don't understand how you wake up one day and decide to commit this type of crime. It was premeditated, he had a worker park his truck NEAR the garage he uses for car repairs but within a block of the dollar store. The garage owner stated, Greg never called him about his truck needing service. GG kills his stepdaughter, drives her car behind the dollar store, video shows a mans legs getting out of her car, then 30-60 seconds later they see GG"s truck drive by. It's white with the lower half camouflaged. If he would of parked his truck a block on the other side of the dollar store, it would not have been caught by the cameras. He got tripped up in his lies and knew the police were onto to him.

I am angry that the DA said he doesn't think GG did anything else like this. WTF, give investigators time to re trace his steps from Florida to Pa. Have a forensics computer specialist comb trough his computer with a fine tooth comb. I can't stop wondering if he had sex with the animals he killed. I also wonder if he stopped at a truck stop along the way to pick up a prostitute, are any missing in some state. IMO, he had to become escalating with his "sickness".

To kill a person, then do what he did and participate in the search like nothing happened, speaks to experience. Except this time he didn't do a good job with the planning. He only came forward after he knew he was a suspect.

He was a braggart, self centered. Several years ago, I was at a picnic at his house. It was extremely hot that day so I went in the house to cool off, all I remember was a big dead alligator in the living room. We left after 45 minutes because I got sick from the heat. {I can't tolerate heat, I sweat like crazy and it's embarrassing}.

On the Tuesday before he was arrested, he told his wife to call the police. I would have called the police and told them on the phone, where the body was, {delete the video} then immediately go outside and shoot myself.

Once again IMO, I think he was doing creepy things way before this happened. I wonder if the anyone in the family saw signs but didn't 2 + 2 together until afterwards. But I'm sure if they did see something off, never in their wildest dreams did they think it would be this.

 

[Ghostl8y]

from your link:

"Dahmer, for example, would drug young men so he could pretend they were corpses'"

The increased use of ''roofies'' ( at least that we are now aware of the prevalence) is pretty frightful in this context.
I was never able to understand the WHY of rendering a victim senseless and then sexually assaulting him/her. The link you provided was disturbingly 'insightful' and does not bode well. MOO

That disturbed me quite a bit too. I think these people who resort to that desire *complete* domination and control over their victims.

 

[Ghostl8y]

Thanks for the light reading, Ghost. You must be a hit at holiday parties. Just kidding. Very interesting but extremely disturbing.

LOL! Thanks, it's my specialty!! Heehee.

 

[Ghostl8y]

bbm: me too! Thank you for the link. I found it very 'enlightening' about this very somber 'perversion' . Necrophilic homocide should be included in the death penalty category (MOO) in those states that consider s/a + murder in death penalty. As pointed out upthread PA won't be seeking death penalty given that the s/a occurred post mortem. I hope that legislators see the folly of the ''cart before the horse'' argument in this case.

What I found most interesting was that one of the factors of the necrophiliacs is often they are unable to consummate the 'act' with a living person.

I so, SO hope the laws get changed because of this case. If anyone ever deserves the DP, it's this sick piece of work. I thought it interesting in that article that one of the psychologists quoted stated that they believed all necrophiliacs were psychopaths. I don't know if it relates to this case or not, but it was also mentioned that most of these people start developing these urges fairly early in life, when their sexuality is developing. If this was the first time GG has ever done something like this, surely there was a history of at least being aroused by this sort of thing; it'll be interesting to see what else they find on his computer. I think he's probably been a psychopath for most of his life; he just never went this far before.

 

[Cofa418]

This is my first post

Something that continues to annoy me is the quickness at which it's been concluded that GG was a newly-outed necrophiliac, and the lesser charge associated with this presumption.

Where is the possibility that he came onto his stepdaughter, she denied him, went to leave, and, out of desperation to achieve his goal, he shot her in the back of the head and then fulfilled his fantasy, which was to have sex her-- basically dead or alive?

I thought the general consensus was that GG was being rather vague with his "sexual in nature" intentions with the murder. I may have missed where GG stated that it was specifically the corpse that intrigued him. Is this the case?

 

[heartgoesout]

The whole situation is disgusting. If he sexually abused her after her death, then I do take comfort that she was not attacked under threat of gun and then killed. I am always disturbed by the idea of a person suffering at the hands of these monsters--- being cognizant of the sexual abuse and power game.

It is not a question of IF he did. He did. He taped his crime. I know the investigators. Apparently he stopped and started the video to show different acts and different angles.

 

[heartgoesout]

I suspect he will plead guilty. But if not, I do not think a jury will believe an insanity plea. He led a seemingly normal life. Ran businesses. Managed employees, met with clients, etc..Jurors don't like wealthy people with the world at their fingertips who act like monsters. There will be no sympathy. They would not understand that he was insane and had all the successes he did. JMO

 

[heartgoesout]

I don't understand how you wake up one day and decide to commit this type of crime. It was premeditated, he had a worker park his truck NEAR the garage he uses for car repairs but within a block of the dollar store. The garage owner stated, Greg never called him about his truck needing service. GG kills his stepdaughter, drives her car behind the dollar store, video shows a mans legs getting out of her car, then 30-60 seconds later they see GG"s truck drive by. It's white with the lower half camouflaged. If he would of parked his truck a block on the other side of the dollar store, it would not have been caught by the cameras. He got tripped up in his lies and knew the police were onto to him.

I am angry that the DA said he doesn't think GG did anything else like this. WTF, give investigators time to re trace his steps from Florida to Pa. Have a forensics computer specialist comb trough his computer with a fine tooth comb. I can't stop wondering if he had sex with the animals he killed. I also wonder if he stopped at a truck stop along the way to pick up a prostitute, are any missing in some state. IMO, he had to become escalating with his "sickness".

To kill a person, then do what he did and participate in the search like nothing happened, speaks to experience. Except this time he didn't do a good job with the planning. He only came forward after he knew he was a suspect.

He was a braggart, self centered. Several years ago, I was at a picnic at his house. It was extremely hot that day so I went in the house to cool off, all I remember was a big dead alligator in the living room. We left after 45 minutes because I got sick from the heat. {I can't tolerate heat, I sweat like crazy and it's embarrassing}.

On the Tuesday before he was arrested, he told his wife to call the police. I would have called the police and told them on the phone, where the body was, {delete the video} then immediately go outside and shoot myself.

Once again IMO, I think he was doing creepy things way before this happened. I wonder if the anyone in the family saw signs but didn't 2 + 2 together until afterwards. But I'm sure if they did see something off, never in their wildest dreams did they think it would be this.

It's crazy to be on here following other cases and then a case hit so "close to home." Shelbar, you and I probably live in the same school district. Lehigh Valley is a nice place. There are very few places I would be uncomfortable or unsafe by myself. Many locals have ties to all parts of the Valley and this has had quite an impact on the communities of Northampton and Lehigh counties. I hope Jessica's family knows this tight knit community is praying for them.

 

[heartgoesout]

This is my first post

Something that continues to annoy me is the quickness at which it's been concluded that GG was a newly-outed necrophiliac, and the lesser charge associated with this presumption.

Where is the possibility that he came onto his stepdaughter, she denied him, went to leave, and, out of desperation to achieve his goal, he shot her in the back of the head and then fulfilled his fantasy, which was to have sex her-- basically dead or alive?

I thought the general consensus was that GG was being rather vague with his "sexual in nature" intentions with the murder. I may have missed where GG stated that it was specifically the corpse that intrigued him. Is this the case?

Welcome Cofa!! Glad to have you onboard. Great question. We don't know word for word what he told police, but the DA is reporting based on those conversations. GG seems to have cooperated and told them step by step what happened and where they could find her. The contents of the video reveal his words to be true. When they asked GG why did you do this, I can only assume that GG told them it was because he wanted to assault her post modem, hence why the DA was able to confidently report this so early on and why necrophilia is being mentioned in the papers. GG had to have told them. That's just my opinion tho and the perspective I took. I also 100% believe he has dabbled in this behavior before in one way or the other.

 

[Cofa418]

Welcome Cofa!! Glad to have you onboard. Great question. We don't know word for word what he told police, but the DA is reporting based on those conversations. GG seems to have cooperated and told them step by step what happened and where they could find her. The contents of the video reveal his words to be true. When they asked GG why did you do this, I can only assume that GG told them it was because he wanted to assault her post modem, hence why the DA was able to confidently report this so early on and why necrophilia is being mentioned in the papers. GG had to have told them. That's just my opinion tho and the perspective I took. I also 100% believe he has dabbled in this behavior before in one way or the other.

Ahhhh okay, this would make sense. Thanks so much for the additional info... and for the welcome!