A Columbia County man is being charged with homicide after police say the body of his missing wife was found in a box on a property he used to own.
Vincent Harp, 32, of Hemlock Township, was arrested on Sunday and charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Katlyn Harp, 33.
Katlyn Harp’s sister reported her as missing on June 20, telling police that she had not spoken to her all day, according to Fox56, and requested a welfare check.
Police then questioned Vincent Harp about his wife’s disappearance and said that he was inconsistent about his whereabouts before, during and after she disappeared.
In viewing surveillance video, police said they saw Vincent Harp driving with a large green box in the bed of his truck.
On June 29, police received a call from Katlyn Harp’s sister, who told them that she, along with a search party, believed they had found Harp’s body at a property Vincent Harp had once owned in Montour Township.
Once at the property, police said they saw a large green metal box that matched the one seen in the video. Inside the box were Harp’s remains. She was identified by a tattoo, WBRE/WYOU reported.
Columbia County Coroner Jeremy Reese said in a release that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and that there was no evidence of gunshot wounds or penetrating trauma. Additional testing must be done, he said, to determine the cause of death.
Vincent Harp has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 14, according to news reports.
