Child found dead in canvas bag in Western Pennsylvania home; man charged in death

OIL CITY, Pa. — A man is facing charges after police say a boy was found dead in the basement of a home in Oil City, Venango County.

Trevaughn Lee Stribling-Jackson, 24, of Oil City, was charged Thursday with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and other offenses.

A criminal complaint alleges Stribling-Jackson’s girlfriend reported her son missing on Wednesday. She said she had left her child in the care of Stribling-Jackson while she went to work on Dec. 18 and hadn’t seen him since.

The complaint states that when she asked Stribling-Jackson where the boy was, he told her the child was with his cousin in Erie but wouldn’t provide the name or contact information of that relative.

While making the report, the complaint states the child’s mother told police several reasons why she was concerned: she found Stribling-Jackson doing laundry “he never did,” noticed a missing air mattress bag and saw blood on a box spring. She also claimed Stribling-Jackson had struck the boy before.

Oil City police searched the home where the child’s mother and Stribling-Jackson lived, finding the child in a canvas bag in the basement beneath a “make shift” table and hidden from view, according to the complaint. Officers noted several visible injuries on the child.

Stribling-Jackson is being held at the Venango County Jail without bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing.

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