Iowa State troopers arrested a man on Interstate 80 this week when they stopped to help him with his stalled car and found a dead man slumped onto the passenger seat, beneath a pile of clothing.

Jihad Abdul Malik Gasaway, 23, has been charged with first degree murder and abuse of corpse, the state Department of Public Safety said.

The victim was identified as 26-year-old  Kemp Xavier Sherrod Harriel. The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office said he died of two gunshot wounds to the chest.

Investigators say the shooting took place inside the car.

According to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, troopers found Gasaway standing outside his Chevrolet Malibu. He told the officers he needed a jump and that he had a gun. He did not tell the troopers about Harriel.

The affidavit said the Taurus 9 mm pistol turned out to be the murder weapon.

In an interview with police, Gasaway reportedly said that he and Harriel left Cedar Rapids early Tuesday morning to travel to Des Moines and that he covered the victim with the clothing because “I thought he was very cold,” the affidavit said.

Gasaway said he didn’t know Harriel was dead until he read the police officer’s lips.

Investigators learned that prior to his car stalling out, Gasaway had apparently driven into a ditch about 2 hours earlier and 17 miles further back on the highway. He told detectives that Harriel had been alive when the car went into the ditch. When police asked what happened to the victim, Gasaway allegedly said, “We got into it.”

Police found a 9 mm shell casing on the floorboard of the car and two bullets in the passenger door.

Gasaway was initially charged with abuse of a corpse and ordered held on a $50,000 bond, DPS said. The murder charge was added on Thursday. He remains behind bars in Poweshiek County.

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[Featured image: Jihad Abdul Malik Gasaway/Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office]