Jenni-Lyn Watson: Body Found, Ex Charged with Murder

Jenni-Lyn Watson, the 20-year-old dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in upstate N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liverpool, N.Y., was charged with murder in Watson's death. Pieper pleaded not guilty Saturday night at his initial appearance in Clay town court.

Pieper was held without bail because of the seriousness of the charge, Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Pieper and Watson had dated on and off for 18 months, according to Fitzpatrick, and she wanted to the relationship to end but "that message apparently did not get through," reports CBS affiliate WTVH.

The arrest came hours after searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman believed to be the missing student covered in debris behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park, Fitzpatrick said. The site was part of a 1,200-acre area canvassed by more than 100 police and volunteers in suburban Syracuse.

Fitzpatrick said Pieper was upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in early October. He said investigators believe Pieper killed Watson at her parents' house on Nov. 19, and her body was "dumped, frankly, like garbage," in the park. "We do not believe she left that house alive," Fitzpatrick said.

Jenni-Lyn Watson, the 20-year-old dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in upstate N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liverpool, N.Y., was charged with murder in Watson's death. Pieper pleaded not guilty Saturday night at his initial appearance in Clay town court.

Pieper was held without bail because of the seriousness of the charge, Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Pieper and Watson had dated on and off for 18 months, according to Fitzpatrick, and she wanted to the relationship to end but "that message apparently did not get through," reports CBS affiliate WTVH.

The arrest came hours after searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman believed to be the missing student covered in debris behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park, Fitzpatrick said. The site was part of a 1,200-acre area canvassed by more than 100 police and volunteers in suburban Syracuse.

Fitzpatrick said Pieper was upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in early October. He said investigators believe Pieper killed Watson at her parents' house on Nov. 19, and her body was "dumped, frankly, like garbage," in the park. "We do not believe she left that house alive," Fitzpatrick said.

Jenni-Lyn Watson, the 20-year-old dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in upstate N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liverpool, N.Y., was charged with murder in Watson's death. Pieper pleaded not guilty Saturday night at his initial appearance in Clay town court.

Pieper was held without bail because of the seriousness of the charge, Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Pieper and Watson had dated on and off for 18 months, according to Fitzpatrick, and she wanted to the relationship to end but "that message apparently did not get through," reports CBS affiliate WTVH.

The arrest came hours after searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman believed to be the missing student covered in debris behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park, Fitzpatrick said. The site was part of a 1,200-acre area canvassed by more than 100 police and volunteers in suburban Syracuse.

Fitzpatrick said Pieper was upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in early October. He said investigators believe Pieper killed Watson at her parents' house on Nov. 19, and her body was "dumped, frankly, like garbage," in the park. "We do not believe she left that house alive," Fitzpatrick said.

Jenni-Lyn Watson, the 20-year-old dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in upstate N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liverpool, N.Y., was charged with murder in Watson's death. Pieper pleaded not guilty Saturday night at his initial appearance in Clay town court.

Pieper was held without bail because of the seriousness of the charge, Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Pieper and Watson had dated on and off for 18 months, according to Fitzpatrick, and she wanted to the relationship to end but "that message apparently did not get through," reports CBS affiliate WTVH.

The arrest came hours after searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman believed to be the missing student covered in debris behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park, Fitzpatrick said. The site was part of a 1,200-acre area canvassed by more than 100 police and volunteers in suburban Syracuse.

Fitzpatrick said Pieper was upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in early October. He said investigators believe Pieper killed Watson at her parents' house on Nov. 19, and her body was "dumped, frankly, like garbage," in the park. "We do not believe she left that house alive," Fitzpatrick said.

Jenni-Lyn Watson, the 20-year-old dance student who vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in upstate N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, who then dumped her body in a park "like garbage," a prosecutor said Saturday.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liverpool, N.Y., was charged with murder in Watson's death. Pieper pleaded not guilty Saturday night at his initial appearance in Clay town court.

Pieper was held without bail because of the seriousness of the charge, Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Pieper and Watson had dated on and off for 18 months, according to Fitzpatrick, and she wanted to the relationship to end but "that message apparently did not get through," reports CBS affiliate WTVH.

The arrest came hours after searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman believed to be the missing student covered in debris behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park, Fitzpatrick said. The site was part of a 1,200-acre area canvassed by more than 100 police and volunteers in suburban Syracuse.

Fitzpatrick said Pieper was upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in early October. He said investigators believe Pieper killed Watson at her parents' house on Nov. 19, and her body was "dumped, frankly, like garbage," in the park. "We do not believe she left that house alive," Fitzpatrick said.