Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the brutal murder Disconnect My journey with a teenage transgender girl began through an online dating app.
According to court records, 14-year-old Polly Likens of Sharon was last seen on June 22 and a relative filed a missing person report with police three days later. The family was out of town and the girl was staying with a friend at the time.
“I’ve seen a lot of amputations, but this is one of the worst.”
Police discovered human remains in Chenango River Lake that same day and more in surrounding areas over the next week.
The Mercer County Coroner’s Office determined Likens died from force trauma to the head prior to the dismemberment and concluded that Likens was the victim of homicide.
Investigators said Dashaun Watkins, 29, of Sharon, told investigators he met Likens on the gay dating app Grindr and arranged to meet up on June 23.
Through digital evidence, police determined Likens had gone to Budd Street Park and Canoe Ranch and was waiting for someone earlier in the day.
Surveillance cameras showed a vehicle at the scene, which police later determined belonged to Watkins.
Police also obtained security camera footage that shows Watkins carrying multiple bags and garbage bags from his apartment near a lake to his car, including one scene in which he appears to struggle to carry a heavy duffel bag.
Bloodstains found in Watkins’ apartment also matched the victim’s. according to To the police.
“I received the body of a 14-year-old boy who was brutally murdered and mutilated. That boy deserves justice.”
Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the horrific incident.
“Obviously any case of first-degree murder is extremely serious, but the brutal dismemberment of a 14-year-old boy is particularly serious,” Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker said. “I’ve seen plenty of dismemberment cases, but this is one of the worst.”
Watkins is being held without bail in the Mercer County Jail on charges of murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and criminal damage to a corpse.
Acker told PennLive he plans to file hate crime charges against Watkins.
“The state police position is that this is not a hate crime because the suspect is an self-identified gay man and the victim was transgender or transitioning,” Acker said, “but as I said, I caught a 14-year-old boy who was brutally murdered and his body mutilated, and that boy deserves justice.”
Likens died just a few days before turning 15.
Sharon is a city of about 13,000 people located near the Ohio border.
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