Chuck Dean White III, right, is accused of killing Terry Len Hause, left. (Photos from Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation)
A man allegedly hit his cousin with a baseball bat multiple times in a fight, burned his body in a barrel, dumped the remains in rural Oklahoma, and told his aunt he got rid of his problem.
Chuck Dean White III, 30, faces murder and other charges in the death of Terry Len Hause, 59, whose body was found on Saturday in a rural area of Lincoln County, about 10 miles from where he was killed, officials said.
The case came to light after one of Hause’s cousins came home on Oct. 19 and saw a puddle of blood on the floor and on a recliner in the living room of their apartment, Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR-TV reported, citing court documents. It appeared someone tried to clean up afterward, the station reported.
When the cousin asked White what happened to Hause, he allegedly “made a comment to the effect of ‘The problem is gone,’ or ‘My problem is gone,”” the station reported.
The cousin said Hause and White were “constantly fighting” to the point where Hause carried a 10 to 12-inch knife in a tan sheath in the back of his waistband, the document said.
White’s uncle told investigators he saw White pull up to his house in his Toyota Corolla on Friday, Oct. 20, place items in a burn barrel and set it on fire. A “burnt knife, shovel, and material” were reportedly later recovered by authorities.
“We believe that the suspect, after murdering the victim, dumped his body in that area there in rural Lincoln County,” said Hunter McKee, an OSBI spokesperson.
Police were led to the victim through his and the suspect’s cellphone, the outlet reported. Hause had “multiple lacerations to the head and face, and had one laceration to the hand,” the station reported.
An examination of the apartment revealed “knife marks and a possible bone fragment,” police reportedly said.
Police tracked White down and arrested him in a traffic stop. He allegedly told police that the confrontation was over some alleged molestation and the argument escalated into a fight where White allegedly admitted he hit Hause in the face with a baseball bat.
Details about the alleged molestation were not available.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
White is in the Oklahoma County Detention Center on charges of first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse. His bail was set at $1 million. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
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