Pennsylvania man held for trial in murder and dismemberment of trans 14-year-old Pauly A. Likens

The Pennsylvania man arrested for the dismemberment killing of 14-year-old trans teen Pauly A. Likens is facing additional charges following a preliminary hearing last week, the Erie Times-News and other local media reported.

Likens was last seen alive on June 22 after leaving the home of a friend where she was staying temporarily. Her remains were later found scattered in a lake in Clark, Pa., in the northwestern part of the state.

DeShawn Watkins, 29, was arrested on July 2 and charged the following day with murder in the first degree, aggravated assault – attempts to cause serious bodily injury or causes injury with extreme indifference, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence. Before Thursday’s hearing, Assistant District Attorney Kendra Strobel added a general count of murder and a felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, the latter count resulting from the age of Likens.

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, Mercer County Coroner John Libonati told the court Likens was killed by six sharp-force trauma wounds about her head and neck. It was also revealed that some parts of Likens’s body have yet to be recovered.

Investigators said they used cell phone location data and surveillance footage from area homes and businesses to track the teen’s movements immediately before her disappearance near a canoe launch in a local park just after 3 a.m. on June 23. A car police believe belonging to Watkins appears to enter the area around the same time, but no footage definitively places Watkins in the presence of Likens. The car left around nine minutes later and Likens was never seen again.

Related: Here are the 19 transgender Americans lost to violence so far this year

Watkins’s court-appointed attorney Assistant Public Defender Vincent Nudi argued the case was circumstantial and cited issues with the integrity of some of the video evidence. While not denying the validity of Nudi’s claims regarding the video evidence at trial, Sharon District Judge Travis Martwinski found the evidence met the standards for a preliminary hearing and ordered Watkins be held over for trial on all charges.

According to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by The Advocate, Likens was staying with a friend who told police the teen left between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to walk to her home. It was the last time anyone saw her alive.

Likens posted a picture of a dark and deserted road around 2:30 a.m. June 23, saying she was on a late-night walk to clear her mind. Her friend inquired if she was OK, to which she replied affirmatively. This was Likens's last known communication despite further messages from her friend.

Video footage captured a person believed to be Likens pacing back and forth and looking at her phone as if waiting to meet someone at the canoe launch on the Shenango River Reservoir in Budd Street Public Park.

Around this time, Watkins left his apartment and drove to the canoe launch. Police say his vehicle was seen leaving the area around the same time that Likens's phone was turned off at 3:40 a.m. Watkins returned to his home and was captured on video struggling to move a large duffel bag into his residence, leaving a trail of blood, according to police.

Later the same day, Watkins reportedly purchased a power saw with exchangeable blades and was seen returning to his apartment with a large shopping bag. Police later recovered the saw , but one blade was missing. Watkins was then observed on video repeatedly leaving the residence with a series of smaller bags. Police believe he took those bags to the Shenango River Reservoir, where he dumped parts of the 14-year-old's body.

Police quickly identified Watkins as the prime suspect in the case. They detained him as he returned to his residence Tuesday. Police noted a bandaged cut on his hand at the time of his arrest.

Watkins told police he had met someone matching Likens’s description on Grindr and admitted hooking up with this person in the general area. He denied stopping at the canoe launch but did say he might have driven past it as he tried to find his date. He also denied his date returned with him to his apartment.

He further claimed he cut his hand on a piece of sheet metal at work while searching for reptiles.

A search of his apartment complex found a trail of blood traces leading to his residence and more where he placed the duffel bag in his apartment, including the bathroom and under the bathroom tile. Video captured Watkins attempting to clean the sidewalk and hallway leading to his apartment.

Likens is at least the 18th trans person to die by violence in the U.S. this year.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family pay for funeral expenses. It has currently raised over $27,000 against a goal of $15,000.

Watkins is next due back in court on Sept. 24.