GUILTY PA - Jack St Onge, 88, beaten to death, Plymouth Twp, 10 June 2014

A Montgomery County, Pa. man accused of helping his father dump his grandfather’s dead body in Susquehanna County last month has been ordered held for trial after waiving his preliminary hearing.

David St. Onge Jr. was arrested July 2nd and charged with abuse of corpse and related crimes. Prosecutors say he helped his father, David St. Onge Sr., dispose of Jack St. Onge’s body.

David Sr. has been charged with the murder.

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David St. Onge Jr., 21, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges on Thursday including: unsworn falsification, tampering with evidence, criminal conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and criminal conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse.

The younger St. Onge could face a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if Judge Thomas Rogers chooses to give him the maximum sentence for each charge and runs those sentences consecutively...

St. Onge Jr., however, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to accusations that he, with his father, stole credit cards from his deceased grandfather and racked up a bill of over $14,000.

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According to a criminal complaint, David St. Onge Sr. admitted to killing his father on June 10 after his father threatened to throw him out of the house where he had been living since February. Authorities alleged St. Onge Sr. obtained a Mag Lite flashlight and struck his father in the head during the argument.

St. Onge Sr. also is accused of hiding his father’s body in Susquehanna County with his son, David St. Onge Jr., the victim’s grandson. The younger St. Onge, 21, pleaded guilty last month charges related to his helping the elder St. Onge dispose of the body and he is awaiting sentencing.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. June 27, workers clearing brush for a logging company on a highway in Gibson Township, Susquehanna County, discovered what appeared to be a body wrapped in a tarp near the roadside, according to court papers. Authorities positively identified Jack St. Onge’s remains and date of birth by the serial number on a pacemaker removed from his body. The body sustained blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

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The man who helped his father move his grandfather’s body was given a time served sentence to be followed by a lengthy probationary period on Tuesday.

David St. Onge Jr, 21, of Plymouth Township, was sentenced to time served to 23 months in Montgomery County Correctional Facility on Tuesday by Judge Thomas Rogers. Following his sentence he will serve eight years of probation.

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Jury selection for the trial against David St. Onge Sr. is scheduled to begin on May 4 in front of Judge Thomas Rogers, according to a court order filed in the clerk of courts on Tuesday.

St. Onge, 54, faces 20 to 40 years in prison if he is convicted of the lead charge of third-degree murder in the death of 88-year-old Jack St. Onge...

It is unclear if the younger St. Onge will testify against his father during trial.

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Less than a week before a jury trial was scheduled to begin, David St. Onge Sr. pleaded guilty to killing his 88-year-old father, Jack St. Onge, in Plymouth Township and hiding his body in Susquehanna County in June 2014.

St. Onge, 60, pleaded guilty April 29 to third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, abuse of a corpse, criminal conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse, access device fraud and criminal conspiracy to commit access device fraud. He was sentenced to 15 to 35 years in prison.

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