CHATEAUGAY — A Chateaugay man pleaded not guilty Monday to killing his father with a blow to the head then burying the body in their back yard.
Dale S. Jarvis Jr., 24, was arraigned in Malone Town Court before Judge Michael Lamitie and charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 21 death of Dale S. Jarvis Sr., 48, of 14 White St.
The son allegedly killed his father about 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 21 “by striking him in the head with a blunt object,” according to court papers submitted by the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
QUIET AT HEARING
Jarvis Jr., who is known as D.J., hung his head during most of the 20-minute proceeding and answered a few questions from the judge in a quiet voice.
He was shackled about the waist and handcuffed in front of the two-piece orange outfit he wore, and his ankles were chained together above his white, high-top sneakers.
He was taken back to County Jail, where he will be held without bail.
Jarvis Jr. has been behind bars since July 17 on an unrelated charge of criminal contempt in connection to a September 2011 domestic dispute with his wife.
His father’s body was found July 19.
'NOT PLANNED'
Jarvis Jr. waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled to reappear in court on Sept. 25 as talks continue between his attorney, Public Defender Thomas Soucia and District Attorney Derek Champagne.
“There are indications that this was not a planned event,” the DA said. “That’s why I have been meeting with defense counsel before the arrest and arraignment.”
Soucia said there would be “ongoing talks, and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Champagne said he cannot discuss a motive for the killing or what type of instrument was used.
He has 16 sworn statements from 15 witnesses in the case and CDs of two interviews that Jarvis Jr. gave police: one from June 28 and the other from July 13.
BODY FOUND
State Police developed information about Jarvis Sr.’s disappearance in July, executed a search warrant at the Chateaugay home and discovered human remains in the back yard.
The remains, found 5 feet from the house in a 5-foot shallow grave, were later identified as the body of Jarvis Sr.
Forensic teams and State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigators sifted through mountains of dirt to extract evidence as family members watched the progress.
Champagne said several people reported that Jarvis Jr. was the only one seen operating a backhoe at the time of his father’s disappearance and that he was anxious to have the backhoe repaired.
HIS STORY
Jarvis Jr. reportedly told relatives a man came to their door about midnight on Feb. 20 and met with his father privately for an hour. He said his father came into the house, turned over his keys and cell phone and told his son he was going away with the man.
He said his father told him not to file a missing-person’s report if he wasn’t heard from or seen in a few days.
Police discovered a second hole that had been dug with a backhoe that was 11 feet deep and contained “the driver’s license and personal paperwork that Dale Jr. said would have been with his father,” the DA said.
“He made a number of statements to relatives about where his father was and is giving different answers about what happened to his father,” Champagne said.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.”
Email Denise A. Raymo:
draymo@pressrepublican.com
