First, there were two bodies found in different parts of Baton Rouge on February 23: Treasure Short, 34, was wrapped in bedding in a wooded area, while Macy Peebles, 27, was discovered near GSRI and Jade avenues.
Then 42-year-old Nathan Millard, a Georgia businessman, vanished that same day. He was found two weeks later dumped in an abandoned property, wrapped in plastic and carpet.
The discoveries have raised disturbing questions about whether the deaths are connected, but so far, Louisiana investigators say there is no evidence to support that theory and it does not appear the individuals died from foul play.
So what happened?
None of the bodies had any obvious signs of trauma and authorities made arrests in two of the cases. Police arrested 41-year-old Andrea Matthews in connection with Short and 38-year-old Dameon Matthews, no relation to Andrea, in connection with Peebles, according to WBRZ-TV. Both have been charged with obstruction of justice and unlawful disposal of remains.
Meanwhile, 45-year-old Derrick Perkins, who may have information related to Millard’s death, was arrested earlier this week on unrelated charges.
While toxicology tests on the three bodies are still pending, experts say one possibility is that the individuals overdosed on drugs and that their remains were dumped to conceal the drug use.
Fil Waters, a former homicide detective, told NewsNation that it is common for drug users to dump bodies when someone overdoses.
“When these things happen, the fact that these folks are getting caught dumping bodies, this is what happens when dopers get together and ingest their dope and then one of them dies,” Waters told NewsNation. “The first thing the other one is thinking is, number one I have got to get rid of the dope, number two I have got to get rid of this body.”
Baton Rouge police declined to comment about whether drugs were involved in any of the cases.
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[Feature Photo: Nathan Millard/Handout]
