Gay Trust Fund Heir’s Body Found, Ex-Boyfriend Arrested for Murder

Author: Alex Cooper

Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested and charged the former boyfriend of an heir to a $2 million trust fund with murder. The heir’s body was identified last week after he went missing almost three years ago.

Rashid Young, 22, disappeared in December 2019. Police detained his ex, Keshaun Sheffield, 20, on Wednesday, who they said took Young’s phone and pretended he was still alive while also taking Young’s money, according to a press release by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office in Pennsylvania.

Authorities said that Young had been stabbed to death.

The heir’s family has been looking for him since his disappearance. Unknown to them, Young’s body was found on September 30, 2019, at Awbury Arboretum in Philadelphia. His remains were left unidentified until a recent push by the family led Montgomery County detectives to identify him last Friday with the use of Young’s dental records.

“Since August 2019, a family has been searching for information about their missing son. Today, we shared with them the tragic details of his death and will be able to return his remains to them for a proper burial,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “This is yet another case of relationship violence that turned into a murder. People need to know that there is help available to them if they are in a violent relationship through Laurel House and the Women’s Center of Montgomery County.”

Detectives began investigating Young’s murder two weeks ago after his family hired a private investigator who requested they look into it.

A confidential informant along with cellphone records showed that Young and Sheffield had been in a romantic relationship for about two years before Young went missing, authorities said.

The informant is reported to be a former lover of Sheffield, according to local station WCAU.

Police allege that Sheffield fatally stabbed Young in his apartment on August 19, 2019. Records show that Pottstown Police were called to the apartment over a report of water coming out of it. Officers forced themselves in and found that the flooding had been intentional. The apartment also looked like it had been ransacked with holes in the walls, broken doors, and trash thrown everywhere.

The recent investigation found that Sheffield had another former lover help him dig a hole at the arboretum and later returned to dispose of Young’s body.

To conceal the fact Young had been killed, police said in the release that Sheffield used his phone and social media accounts to speak with Young’s family. He also began draining Young’s bank account, according to authorities, until the account was frozen when Young was reported missing.

Sheffield has been charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, theft by unlawful taking/disposition, receiving stolen property, possessing an instrument of crime, and access device fraud.

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Alex Cooper