Missouri man accused of dumping woman’s body in forest

DE SOTO, Missouri – According to police, a man dumped the body of a woman in the woods after finding out she had died in his home. Stephon Seidl, 62, is charged with abandoning her body and tampering with evidence. The death of Danielle Thomas, 35, of Park Hills is still under investigation.

A witness tells police that on August 27 he received a message from Thomas with a pin about their location. It showed them at Seidl’s home.

Seidl tells the police that Thomas spent several days in his house. She used a guest room. He says he found her body there on August 29. He says it was unresponsive, cold to the touch, “stiff” and discolored.

Court documents show witnesses found her body on August 30 about 9 meters west of Old Engledow Road in De Soto. The site is at the end of the street with no houses within a half mile.

The coroner found no evidence of trauma to her body. Her death does not count as murder. The cause of death is still under investigation by the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to investigators, Seidl apparently cleaned up the guest room where Thomas’ body was found.

Seidl is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $20,000 in cash bail.