Bensalem Man Left Body Behind Dumpster, Bucks Co. DA Says

BENSALEM, PA — A 41-year-old Bensalem man is being charged with abuse of a corpse, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said in a news release Thursday.

Prosecutors said that, after a man overdosed in Maksim Stankevich's apartment, he wrapped the victim’s body with a rope and blanket and left him behind a red dumpster of a nearby townhouse complex rather than calling for help.

Stankevich is also charged with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property after taking the overdose victim's cellphone, backpack, and two T-shirts, the DA's office said.

The second-degree misdemeanor charges were filed on Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Joseph P. Falcone.

The Bensalem Township Police Department began the investigation on Sep. 16, when they were dispatched at 2:49 p.m. to the Townhomes @ Gateway apartment complex at 335 Thunder Circle, on a report of a body found.

Upon arrival, police discovered the body of a deceased man, identified as 40-year-old Dean Alexander DeJesus. His corpse was found behind a red dumpster, where it was covered by a black and gray blanket that was secured with blue nylon rope.

As a result of the investigation, Bensalem detectives contacted Stankevich on Oct. 5 and he told them that DeJesus had been at his apartment at 3307 Johns Court and asked to use the bathroom. According to a criminal complaint, Stankevich later found DeJesus deceased on the bathroom floor.

Stankevich then removed DeJesus from his apartment and placed him in a garbage can, which he used to move the body from 3307 Johns Court to the Townhomes @ Gateway apartment complex, approximately a half-mile away, the complaint states. There, he left the body behind the dumpster, the DA's office said.

Camera footage from the apartment complex confirms the incident happened between 4:43 a.m. and 5:50 a.m. on Sep. 16, according to the DA's office.

On Oct. 5, Stankevich was found to be in possession of the victim’s Motorola G7 cell phone, a Puma backpack, and two T-shirts for a combined value of $145.

“With the immunity that the good Samaritan law provides people for reporting drug overdoses, this defendant's failure to report Mr. DeJesus's overdose to authorities is inexcusable,” District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said.

The case was investigated by Bensalem Police Detectives Aaron Woelkers and Stephen Clark and is assigned for prosecution to Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber.

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