Police and the state's attorney's office in Champaign announced Thursday that criminal charges have been filed against six men accused of cutting up the body of Ashley Gibson, the Champaign News-Gazette reported on its website.
....who police believe were present April 17 at a house in the 1500 block of Hedge Road when the 24-year-old Champaign woman died.
Charged with the Class X felony of dismembering a human body are:
-- Davion Hedrick, 26, the resident of the house where the alleged crime occurred.
-- Donte D. Meeks, 25.
-- Randale D. Banks, 28.
-- Reginald Logan, 23.
-- Javon Tate, 19.
-- Deundrea M. Weatherspoon, 25.
Police had Hedrick, Banks, Logan and Tate in custody by the time of a mid-afternoon news conference, the newspaper reported. They were still looking for Meeks and Weatherspoon. Those in custody are expected to be arraigned Friday.
State's Attorney Julia Rietz told reporters that more charges could be added later once the final results of Gibson's autopsy are known. Coroner Duane Northrup said it could be several weeks before toxicology tests are complete.
Northrup and Rietz said preliminary autopsy results showed no signs of trauma, no internal injuries and no pre-existing medical conditions....
Champaign police Lt. Dave Shaffer, who has headed the search for Gibson since her mother reported her missing last week, declined to comment on any role that drugs may have played in what happened at the Hedge Road house.
According to the News-Gazette, authorities believe the men decided after Gibson's death, the cause of which has not been released, to get rid of her body.
"We are still working to develop a motive for the dismemberment," Shaffer told the newspaper. "There were various people in there throughout the night. These are the six we believe are directly responsible for her dismemberment."