Gregory Graf, 55, was convicted in 2014 of shooting Jessica Padgett and recording himself abusing her corpse
Pennsylvania man who killed stepdaughter and defiled her corpse is contesting terms of divorce
Necrophiliac Gregory Graf fatally shot 33-year-old Jessica Padgett in Allentown, Pa, in 2014 and buried her behind the home he shared with his wife, the victim’s mother
Graf, then 53, made a video recording of himself having sex with the corpse of the newly wed mother-of-three
He was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to life
He is contesting the terms of divorce from his ex, Danelle Graf, which splits assets twenty-five percent to seventy-five percent in her favor
He was previously in agreement with the divorce provisions
Gregory Graf is serving a life sentence for killing and abusing the body of his stepdaughter, Jessica Padgett. Police said Graf likely tried to sexually assault his stepdaughter on Nov 21, 2014 before he shot her in the head and buried her body,on his property
A man convicted of killing his stepdaughter and having sex with her corpse is contesting the terms of a divorce from her mother.
Although a psychopath has been sent away for life, 18 months after he was found guilty of killing and burying his stepdaughter, Gregory Graf was back in court via video feed from his Pennsylvania prison cell.
55-year-old Gregory Graf said Monday that he never agreed to the financial terms of the divorce between him and his ex-wife, Danelle Bittner, the mother of his, victim Jessica Padgett.
The divorce settlement splits assets but would give him only 25 percent of the assets shared with his longtime wife.
When Graf was arrested, he was the owner of a fencing company and was building another home in Florida.
Through the trial and civil proceedings, he was represented by prominent Philadelphia defense attorney Jack McMahon, whotold The Morning Call his client was happy with the agreement when it was reached in February.
But Graf contests his ‘agreement’ with the financial settlement. Hee felt abandoned by McMahon he said, claiming the lawyer didn’t give him the proper information.
“I don’t know what is going on,” Graf said. “I’m not a legal person.”
McMahon, who sent another attorney to Monday’s hearing in his place, said he doesn’t know why Graf is unhappy with the settlement.
Jessica Padgett was fatally shot in the head by her ‘sicko’ stepdad November 21, 2014. Gregory Graf then proceeded to sexually abuse the body of the newly wed mother-of-three before burying her behind a shed
Graf was convicted in 2014 of fatally shooting 33-year-old Jessica Padgett and recording video of himself abusing her corpse. A jury viewed that video at trial and convicted Graf of first-degree murder after only a few minutes of deliberation.
During the murder trial, the prosecutor said necrophilia motivated graf to fatally shoot his stepdaughter in November of 2014.
The case was shut when a video recording he made showed Graf sexually abusing the body of Jessica Padgett. The video was discovered on Graf’s computer.
33-year-old Padgett, a mother of three, was married just weeks earlier on August 1, 2014.
She was last seen alive on Nov. 21, when she left work at a day care center.
Graf was arrested five days later after police found her body buried behind a shed on the property where he lives with his wife, the victim’s mother.
He was charged with criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse, after he admitted to killing Jessica and burying her behind a shed on his Allen Township property.
Padgett’s mother, Danelle Graf, was in Florida at the time of the shooting.
Gregory Graf [left] is contesting the financial provisions of the divorce which give the bulk of the family’s assets to Jessica’s mother, his ex-wife Danelle Bittner, seen holding hands during the murder trial [photo, right], with Jessica’s husband, Michael Pagett
“I’m out here. I don’t know what is going on,” Graf said. “I’m not a legal person.”“I don’t know how you can have a divorce settlement without all the proper information,” said Graf. “I just don’t understand that.”
Presiding judge Samuel Murray rejected Graf’s claim, and granted Bittner the power to execute the financial arrangements on his behalf, as her attorney was seeking. Murray read from a court transcript from when the decree was entered into, when McMahon said he had gone over the settlement with Graf item by item.
“As everyone knows, my client is in jail,” McMahon said at the time. “I had a call with him this morning, the jail arranged it. I spoke to him about this settlement and the terms as we described it. He authorized me to agree to it.”
Murray noted that Graf has done nothing to challenge the terms since then.
“It’s a court order, Mr. Graf,” Murray said.
Jessica Padget’s family members speak to the media after a guilty verdict of first-degree murder was handed out to Gregory Graf, 18 months ago. Jessica’s mother Danelle Bittner [second left, standing], Padgett’s father Thomas Kaczmar [left, seated] and her husband Michael Padgett [center, seated]
Under the settlement, Graf is slated to receive $130,000 from two mutual funds and to get 25 percent of the proceeds from the future sale of the home in Edgewater, Fla. An avid hunter, his guns, hunting equipment and mounted animal heads would be sold at auction, with all proceeds going to him.
Morning Call quotes Jack McMahon as saying he cannot speak for Graf’s motivations. he debunked any claim that he abandoned his client or that he did not grant prior approval to the settlement.
“In fact, he agreed and was happy with it, so who knows what’s going on?” McMahon said.
regarding whether Graf will ever see the money from his estate remains an open question. Padgett was a mother of three children, and her husband, Michael Padgett, sued Graf last year for wrongful death seeking to foreclose on his assets for the benefit of the children.
A civil trial is scheduled next year, when a jury would be asked to determine monetary damages. Graf is also represented in that case by McMahon, who suggested his client’s claims on Monday could change that.
“I am [his lawyer] for the time being,” McMahon said. “But when he makes comments like that, I don’t know.”
Jessica Padgett’s body was found behind the shed of the home her mother shared with her stepdad in Allen Township, Pa. on November 27, 2014. She had been shot in the head and sexually molested.
Jessica’s murder, left family and friends scratching their heads since Jessica appeared to have a good relationship with Graf, one of her “2 dads” she wrote about in a March 2011 post.
“Some people have 2 dads and I love both of mine VERY much,” she wrote. “Love you Daddy and Greg!!”
Police said Graf an ex-con who has convictions for theft dating to the 1980s and did time in prison in 1995 after convictions for possession with intent to deliver drugs and conspiracy, was also an avid hunter. He shot his stepdaughter inside the home, using one of “numerous” firearms found at the residence.
Throughout the trial Graf’s defense attorney, Jack McMahon didn’t deny that Graf killed Padgett, but argued instead that “something snapped” and the shooting was not premeditated.
The jury did not buy the defense argument, Graf is now serving a life sentence in prison.
Padgett’s husband, Michael Padgett, is suing Graf, hoping to win monetary damages for the woman’s three children. McMahon is also representing Graf in that case but said, in light of Graf’s comments, he may reconsider.