Stephon Lee Seidl, 62, has been charged for allegedly dumping the body of a 35-year-old woman he found dead in his home on Engledow Road south of De Soto in Jefferson County near the St. Francois County line. The dead woman, Danielle Thomas, was from Park Hills but had been living at Seidl’s home in the days leading up to her death, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.
According to the probable-cause in the case, two people were traveling in the 14300 block of Old Engledow Road south of De Soto on Aug. 30 and thought they saw a body in a wooded area near the road. Sheriff’s Office investigators found the body that day about 30 feet west of the road.
The Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body, and the examiner’s report said there were no signs of trauma. The Sheriff’s Office does not believe Thomas’ death was a homicide, but an official cause of death had not been determined as of earlier this afternoon, Sept. 6, the report said.
Thomas had not been reported missing, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
However, after the body was identified, a friend told investigators that Thomas sent him a “pin” location on Aug. 27 that showed her at a home in the 5200 block of Engledow Road, which is just south of Old Engledow Road. Seidl owns the home from where the “pin” location was sent, the probable-cause statement said.
Seidl allegedly told investigators Thomas had been staying in a spare bedroom at his home for several days, and on Aug. 29, he found her dead, according to the report.
Authorities believe Seidl cleaned up the room where he found the body, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Seidl on Aug. 31 with abandonment of a corpse, a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison; and tampering with physical evidence, a class A misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a possible fine of up to $2,000, court records show.
As of today, Sept. 6, Seidl was being held on a $20,000 cash-only bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, according to court documents.