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Police documents obtained by Daily Voice are painting a horrifying story in the death of Cathleen McGrath, of Haddon Township.
** WARNING: The following news report contains graphic information. **
Reports of a body wrapped in clear, black trash bags brought Camden County police officers to the area near the overpass at 8th Street and Atlantic Avenue, just before 2 p.m. on Nov. 15, according to an affidavit obtained by Daily Voice.
"Investigation revealed the victim was Cathleen McGrath," the complaint reads. "A cause [of death] was not determined because Ms. McGrath’s head was not with the body."
McGrath was reported missing on Nov. 1, in Haddon Township. Her family told police she was last seen on Oct. 27, around 2 p.m., and detectives reviewed surveillance footage, which captured her going into a home at [redacted] around 8:30 on that day.
Just over 24 hours later, a man later identified as 53-year-old Carlos Acevedo, of Camden, was seen leaving the same home, carrying a large object — one that resembles McGrath’s body — wrapped in clear, black trash bags, police paperwork says.
Acevedo then placed the object in the bed of a Chevrolet S10 pickup truck with New Jersey registration, authorities said. The pickup was tracked to the area where McGrath’s body was later found, authorities said.
During a search of Acevedo’s home on Nov. 27 investigators saw blood splatter at the top of the stairs and within a second-floor bedroom, according to the affidavit. There were “positive reactions” for the presence of blood on the bathroom floor and in the bathtub, authorities said.
“Also located were black and clear plastic trash bags, as well as black electrical tape,” the document reads. Acevedo declined to speak with detectives and was released.
On Nov. 28, investigators went to Acevedo’s place of employment, where a co-worker said he had arrived and indicated he was going to Mexico for a family emergency, police paperwork says.
Dr. Peter Mazari, of the Gloucester, Camden and Salem County Medical Examiner’s Office, conducted a postmortem examination and ruled McGrath's manner of death a homicide.
Acevedo was ultimately charged with first-degree murder and second-degree disturbing human remains. He never made it to Mexico, but he did make it to the Camden County Jail.
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