Sunday, May 22, 2011

Canton, OH: Ohio police find missing woman's body in trunk of her car, jail boyfriend on murder charge

First Posted: May 21, 2011 - 1:48 pm
Last Updated: May 21, 2011 - 5:42 pm

CANTON, Ohio — A 19-year-old northeast Ohio man faces a murder charge after police found his missing girlfriend's body in the trunk of her car, parked in the driveway of a neighbor who gave the man a place to stay for the night.

Joshua Babcock of Canton was arrested Thursday when police looking for Monique Crockett, 25, found her decomposing body in the trunk of her Pontiac Grand Prix. Detectives believe the mother of three had been dead for at least a week, the Canton Repository reported.

Babcock remained in jail Saturday on $2 million bond. His attorney did not immediately respond to an Associated Press message seeking comment.

Police Capt. Dave Davis said an autopsy did not immediately indicate how Crockett died, and more test results are pending.

The car was found outside the home of Babcock's former neighbor, Pam Walker. She told the newspaper she was letting Babcock spend the night on her couch and she had no warning about what police would find in the car, which had been parked in her driveway since Babcock and a friend told her the car broke down about a week earlier.

"If I had any inkling whatsoever, I would've called police," Walker said. She said Babcock had always seemed quiet, a contrast to the outspoken Crockett.

"When he was here, he walked around here like nothing happened," she said. "He was here during the day, working on (the car) to get it running. ... He never seemed upset. He seemed happy all the time."

Police who came to Walker's home also arrested a 17-year-old boy who was friends with Babcock and who dated Walker's daughter, the newspaper said. The boy and Babcock were taken into custody on burglary warrants, though it wasn't clear whether the burglary allegations were related to Crockett's death.

Walker said Babcock and Crockett had been living out of Crockett's car after recently being evicted from their home. She said Babcock didn't work, and Crockett was employed at a nursing home.

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