PITTSBURGH — Police made an arrest in the gruesome murder of Kevin Thompson, whose dismembered body was found inside a home in Carrick.
John Robert Dickinson, 42, of Carrick, is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of corpse, theft of a motor vehicle, access device fraud, tampering with physical evidence and possession of an instrument of crime.
Here’s a timeline of how the events leading up to the discovery of Thompson's remains and Dickinson’s arrest.
According to court documents, Kevin Thompson’s boss said he was last seen at his job at Meyers Well Services. He was scheduled to work May 27 but never showed up and didn’t call off sick.
John Dickinson, Thompson’s roommate, was captured on surveillance from the Exxon on West Liberty Avenue and Pioneer Avenue in Thompson’s car. An unknown female and unknown male were also in the car. According to court documents, witnesses said they were riding around Pittsburgh purchasing items with Thompson’s credit cards.
Thompson’s mother called Pittsburgh police to report her son missing. Police responded to the home Thompson shared Dickinson in the 1700 block of Parkfield Street. The victim’s mother told police she was able to gain access inside the home and discovered stains in the kitchen area. She told investigators she hadn’t talked with her son in two weeks. Thompson’s vehicle, a white 2008 Cadillac CTS, was also missing.
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Pittsburgh police returned to the home on Parkfield Street. Thompson’s mother also returned and let investigators inside the home where they also observed stains in the kitchen. Investigators then discovered a dismembered body.
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The Allegheny County Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and identified the remains as Thompson. His cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds to the chest.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses were interviewed by police. One of them told investigators they found a notebook belonging to Dickinson that included a page, stating, “This is John Dickinson. I am responsible for the death of Kevin Thompson. I had no help whatsoever. I told no one what I did.”
A witness also told investigators Dickinson was staying in a tent for the past week at Seldom Seen Greenway along Saw Mill Run Boulevard.
Investigators drove to that location and took Dickinson into custody.
"We had no idea that it would ever come to this," said Richard Brazell, Dickinson's half-brother. "It's disturbing."
Brazell said he and Dickinson are not close and only recently became involved in each other's lives.
The family has been receiving threatening messages on social media, according to Brazell.
Friends of the victim are struggling to understand why this happened.
"Always laughing, joking, very caring, open and loving," said Julie Bray, who grew up with Thompson.
She told Channel 11 Thompson and Dickinson were good friends, which makes the murder that much more difficult to understand.
"I don't know if we will ever know the truth of what went wrong," Bray said.