Montgomery County death investigation turns homicide; suspect arrested in Norristown
The cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death was homicide.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A death investigation in Montgomery County turned into a homicide case after authorities identified the man found inside a garbage can along the Schuylkill River Trail and announced an arrest in the killing.
Chopper 6 was over a large police presence in a wooded area near West Washington and Noble streets in Norristown just before 8 p.m. Monday. Police were called to the area around 7 p.m. after a concerned citizen noticed a trash can lying in brush and detected a foul odor. When he looked inside, he believed he saw a human leg.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said the body was that of 44-year-old Oscar Traviezo-Tercero, who had been living unhoused in Norristown. Investigators said Traviezo-Tercero was also in the country without legal permission.
An autopsy determined that Traviezo-Tercero suffered multiple skull fractures. The cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death was homicide.
A joint investigation by Norristown Police and Montgomery County Detectives found that Traviezo-Tercero and the suspect, 46-year-old Felix Santos-Colon Jr., were both living unhoused and had been sleeping in the car wash area of the Global Gas station on Main Street.
Authorities said Traviezo-Tercero was last seen alive on November 4. Surveillance video from November 5 showed Santos-Colon pulling a full Horizon trash can away from the gas station, with bicycle parts and other items sticking out of the top. A man riding a bicycle appeared in the footage and helped push the heavy can up an incline onto the Schuylkill River Trail.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said detectives worked through difficult circumstances to piece together the case, calling the killing "senseless." Norristown Police Chief Michael Trail also praised the collaboration that led to the arrest.
Santos-Colon was taken into custody on November 15 and charged with First-Degree Murder, Third-Degree Murder and Possessing an Instrument of Crime. He was denied bail and was sent to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 21.
