NOEL, Mo. — A southwest Missouri man has pleaded guilty to abandoning the corpse of an Oklahoma man whom authorities believe was killed at a recreation vehicle park.
The Joplin Globe reports that 35-year-old Derek L. Reeves, of Noel, entered the plea Monday in Newton County Circuit Court.
The unidentified 43-year-old victim's body was found in October wrapped up in a tent and sleeping bag and dumped along a road in McDonald County.
Authorities say an Arkansas RV dweller who hasn't been charged led investigators to the corpse after a witness told authorities a killing had taken place over the summer. The body was so badly decomposed that the medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death.
A second suspect also is charged with abandonment of a corpse.