Human remains found; murder likely

Video

Related Photos

Staff Photos/Kelli Catana State Police Troop B Criminal Bureau of Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain (left) and Troop B Commander Major Richard C. Smith Jr. look outside the home of Dale Jarvis Sr. in Chateaugay Thursday. --
During an investigation into the whereabouts of 48-year-old Dale Jarvis Sr., police found human remains in the backyard of Jarvis's property. --

Discussion

IMPORTANT: Comments that include a personal attack on other commenters will be deleted in their entirety. Your comments are not welcome here if you can't maintain a civil tone.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 20, 2012

Human remains found; murder likely

State Police to investigate as a homicide case

By DENISE A. RAYMO, Press-Republican Press-Republican The Press Republican Fri Jul 20, 2012, 05:26 AM EDT

CHATEAUGAY — State Police say they are investigating a murder after finding human remains in a shallow grave behind the home of a Chateaugay man last seen on Feb. 20.

No identification has been made, and an autopsy is to be conducted in Albany in the coming days, said State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Capt. Robert LaFountain.

Dale Jarvis Sr., 48, was last seen five months ago by his son, Dale Jr., who is known as “D.J.” and also lived at 14 White St. in the Village of Chateaugay.

‘DISTURBED’

During a second day of excavation in the backyard Thursday, human remains were found buried “below grade deep” where a witness had reported “the yard had been disturbed earlier this year,” said State Police Troop B Commander Maj. Richard Smith Jr.

“The method that the body has been placed behind the house has led us to determine that we’re going to be conducting this investigation as a homicide,” he said.

The remains were to be removed later in the afternoon Thursday and taken downstate for an autopsy.

Smith said that if proper identifying documents, such as dental records, are found and compared, the ID could be made “within a week.”

No arrests have been made, and no more information was available “about the individual or individuals involved,” he said, but it is being considered a homicide investigation.

“We can’t rule anyone in or anyone out,” he said.

Smith would not elaborate on circumstances of the crime because those details are only known to the State Police and the killer or killers.

PROBE CONTINUES

Members of the uniformed State Police and the Troop B Forensic Identification Unit began to excavate portions of a 3-acre property behind the home on Wednesday and started a second day of painstaking work when the remains were found, Smith said.

He and LaFountain praised the officers and investigators for their efforts under trying conditions, adding that this is the fourth time in recent months they have uncovered a body.

Search dogs had been used at the property Wednesday, and a burgundy Dodge Caravan recently towed to the home and parked nearby was processed by investigators.

LaFountain said that investigators would be at the scene, continuing to sift for evidence, at least until Saturday, then the situation would be re-evaluated.

A woman who told police she was Dale Jarvis’s sister arrived at the home with a teenage boy at about 2:25 p.m. and was taken aside by investigators. As BCI Investigator Gary Brown spoke to the woman, she lifted her left hand to the side of her face and slowly rubbed her temple and forehead. The boy placed his hand on her right shoulder and patted her in a comforting manner as they listened. The two returned to her vehicle and drove away a few minutes later, the woman red eyed from crying.

Smith said the woman, whose name he did not know, was told human remains had been found on her brother’s property and that the family would hear from investigators as soon as they knew anything concrete.

Jarvis, also known as “Cookie Joe” or Stephen Dale Jarvis, was described as a Caucasian, 5-foot-9-inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and a burn scar from his right forearm halfway to his shoulder.

Email Denise A. Raymo: draymo@pressrepublican.com