Philadelphia Man Taray Herring Charged In Connection To Dismembered Body Found In U-Haul In Somerton: Police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A man has been charged with burglary and abuse of a corpse in connection with the case of dismembered remains found in a U-Haul truck in Somerton, Philadelphia Police said. Taray Herring, 47, is being held without bail, according to police.
There's been a break in the case of a dismembered body found in a trash bag in the back of U-Haul truck in Philadelphia's Somerton section on Thursday. The details of the case are unsettling to neighbors alike.
"It sounds like something out of a movie or something," neighbor Tiffany McLean said. "I can't really, I'm still trying to process it myself."
Philadelphia Police confirm that Herring was arrested and arraigned on Saturday. He faces several charges including burglary and abuse of corpse.
Officers saw the U-Haul leave a home on the 1000 block of Sanibel Street after a neighbor called 911 to report a possible burglary.
Herring was the passenger in the U-Haul when officers pulled it over just after 9 a.m. Thursday.
"Driver side door opened up, driver came out with his hands up and said, I didn't do it, it wasn't me. I was paid to move a body," Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp said.
Investigators questioned and released the driver.
Though police are still not identifying the victim, property records and neighbors identify Peter Gerold as the longtime homeowner. They say he ran a massage therapy business out of the home.
"We're working under the idea that that individual lived in that house, by himself, so we're assuming that that is the individual," Gripp said.
Sources confirm that officers discovered additional body parts Thursday in a dumpster just a few blocks from the home at Kelvin Avenue and Proctor Road.
On Friday, police, executing a search warrant, and ACCT Philly removed more than 30 parrots and other animals from Gerold's property.
Neighbors say they hadn't seen him in about a week and feared that someone took advantage of kind nature.
"He helped out a lot of people, so you know it was somebody that he probably helped out at one point that came back and did this to him," one neighbor said.
At this point, it is unclear if and how Herring and the victim knew each other.
Herring's preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 1.
CBS3's Trang Do contributed to this report.
