Donations for slain mother near $15K

A Gofundme page is within hundreds of dollars of its fundraising goal of $15,000 to support the three children of a Central Pa. woman who disappeared last month and was discovered to have murdered.

Jessica Padgett, 33, a beloved daycare worker from Whitehall, Pa., outside Allentown, disappeared on Nov. 21.

Friends and authorities searched for days for Padgett before her body was discovered on the property of her stepfather, Gary Graf, 54, who is now charged with her murder.

Prosecutors revealed last week at a court hearing that Graf videotaped himself having sex with her corpse after he fatally shot her in the head and that they believe necrophilia was the motive for the murder.

Graf asked for a public defender at his hearing but was told that even if an attorney is appointed he will be forced to pay the legal fees due to having funds in a bank account, The Morning Call reported.

He will face abuse of corpse charges in addition to homicide charges, Northampton County prosecutors said. He is currently incarcerated without bail and does not have an attorney yet listed.

Money donated through the GoFundMe account, which was started by Padgett’s friends and intended to cover cost of living expenses for Padgett’s children, will go to Padgett’s husband and her mother, according to the organizers.

The page is currently at $14,630, raised by 340 donors.