A man is in custody after he allegedly murdered his transgender lover and then dumped her body parts in a vacant lot in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia.
On Wednesday, police received a call from a woman who claimed that her boyfriend had killed someone, according to law enforcement sources.
Sources say that in her statement to police, the woman claimed she returned to her home on Sunday where she heard her boyfriend, 43-year-old Charles Sargent, making noise on the second floor. The woman says Sargent then confronted her while naked and with blood on his leg and threatened to kill her if she said anything about the noise she had just heard.
The woman said in her statement that Sargent then brought a body wrapped in bed sheets and then once again threatened to kill her. The woman told police he later grabbed plastic bags to wrap up the body. Sargent also allegedly had an axe in his possession.
According to the woman, Sargent told her that the body was that of a person he had relations with. Sargent allegedly killed the victim after finding out she was a transgender woman, identified as Mark Williams of Philadelphia. Sargent allegedly used a hatchet and screwdriver to kill Williams and then dumped her remains in a vacant lot at the intersection of Sedgley Avenue and York Street. (Pictured on Right, Mark Williams)
The woman said that Sargent threatened to harm her and her children if she told anyone, according to sources. That didn’t stop her from telling police however, who arrested Sargent and took him into custody. Once in custody, he allegedly confessed to the murder.
Sargent is charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime, abuse of a corpse and making terroristic threats. According to court documents, he has a criminal record and was charged with rape and aggravated assault in the past.
Investigators say police recovered a six-inch pocket knife as well as screwdrivers from the home Sargent shared with his girlfriend on the 2100 block of North 32nd Street. Investigators searched the vacant lot on Sedgley and York where they found Williams' body parts. According to police, Williams was arrested previously for prostitution.
Sargent's girlfriend is currently staying with her mother. She says that the home she shared with him "smells like death" and that she likely won't return.