Pennsylvania man killed and dismembered 14-year-old transgender girl he met on Grindr, police say



Pennsylvania police said that the gruesome murder and dismemberment of a teenage transgender girl was the result of a meetup from an online dating app.

14-year-old Pauly Likens of Sharon was last seen on June 22 and reported missing to police by relatives three days later, according to court records. The family had left town, and the teenager was living at a friend's home at that time.

'I‘ve seen dismemberments before a number of times but this is one of the worst.'

Police found human remains on that same day at Shenango River Lake and found more remains in the surrounding area for a week afterward.

The Mercer County Coroner’s Office determined that Likens had died from sharp force trauma to the head before the dismemberment. They also concluded that Likens was the victim of homicide.

Investigators said that 29-year-old DaShawn Watkins of Sharon told them that he had met Likens on the Grindr dating app for gay people and arranged to meet the teenager on June 23.

Police were able to determine through digital evidence that Likens had gone to the Budd Street Public Park and Canoe Lunch and appeared to wait for someone early that day.

Surveillance video showed a car at the scene that police later determined to belong to Watkins.

Police also were able to obtain security video showing Watkins carrying multiple bags and garbage bags to his vehicle from his apartment near the lake, including one instance where he struggled with a heavy duffel bag.

Blood evidence found at Watkins' apartment also matched that of the victim, according to police.

'I got a 14-year-old dead kid who was brutally murdered and dismembered. That kid deserves justice.'

Investigators have not determined a motive for the gruesome incident.

“Obviously all first-degree murder cases are extremely significant cases but a gruesome dismemberment of 14-year-old kid," said Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker. "I‘ve seen dismemberments before a number of times but this is one of the worst.”

Watkins is being held without bail at the Mercer County Jail. He was charged with murder, aggravated assault, evidence tampering, and abuse of a corpse.

Acker told PennLive that he would be pressing hate crime charges against Watkins.

“The position of state police is that it is not a hate crime because the alleged perpetrator was an admitted homosexual and the victim was transgender or transitioning,” said Acker. “However, as I said I got a 14-year-old dead kid who was brutally murdered and dismembered. That kid deserves justice.”

Likens died just days before the teen would have turned 15 years old.

Sharon is a city of about 13k residents near the border of Ohio.

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Louisiana man admits to trying to murder and dismember a gay man he met on LGBT dating app Grindr



A Louisiana man admitted to trying to murder and dismember a gay man he met on the LGBT dating Grindr, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney General.

Holden White was hospitalized with grievous wounds after he had his first date with Chance Seneca, who is now 21 years old.

White has said that he interacted with Seneca for a month without any red flags before the attack on June 20, 2020, that nearly cost him his life.

"He left the room to get something and then he came back. And when he came back he came up behind me and that's when he wrapped a cord around my neck," said White.

Seneca choked White so hard the blood vessels burst in his face and he passed out.

"The next thing I remember is being in the bathtub and he was slicing open my left wrist," said White, who said he was also naked at the time.

The man faded in and out of consciousness while Seneca watched him. He said that he remembered being stabbed in the neck.

He slipped into a coma and awoke three days later in a hospital. He was told that Seneca called the police and told them he had killed a man. White had six stab wounds to the neck and his hands were nearly sawed off.

"Seneca acknowledged that he intended to murder and dismember H.W. for the purpose of satisfying his homicidal urges, and that he had planned to continue murdering until he was caught or killed," read the statement from the Attorney General.

Seneca pled guilty to one count of kidnapping as a part of a plea agreement. He faces life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2023. He could also face hate crime charges.

White said that his mission in life was to make sure Seneca stayed behind bars to prevent him from hurting anyone else.

Here's more about the insidious case:

Louisiana teen tortured; left for dead on Grindr datewww.youtube.com