A Pizza Hut employee in Milwaukee has been accused of killing his manager and leaving his body in a trash can following a dispute over a $7,000 check.
Kavonn Ingram, 31, appeared in court on Friday (16 February) following the death of 55-year-old Alex Stengel earlier this month.
On 7 February, a garbage truck driver found Stengel's body in a dumpster at the back of the Pizza Hut restaurant in South Milwaukee.
Police were called to the scene and followed a trail of blood to the kitchen of the Pizza Hut, where they found the floor had been recently cleaned, and there was blood on a sink, a mop handle and a light switch.
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Investigators went to the home of Ingram, who worked with Stengel at the Pizza Hut, and were met by his girlfriend who asked: “Is this about Alex?”
According to a criminal complaint cited by CBS7, the girlfriend claimed Ingram had plans to get a large inheritance check that Stengel had just received.
She allegedly questioned him about plans to shoot Stengel.
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According to the complaint, Ingram told his girlfriend: “If… your gun is to his head and you shoot him in the head, it works as a silencer, and no one else is gonna hear it.”
Citing the complaint, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated that several days before Stengel's body was found, he cashed the $7,000 check and showed off a wad of dollar bills to co-workers, including Ingram.
Ingram has been accused of shooting Stengel in the head in the kitchen of the Pizza Hut, and of trying to slit his throat. Police have suggested the money could have been the motive for the crime.
Surveillance footage filmed from a nearby Taco Bell allegedly showed a suspect struggling to bring a garbage can to the dumpster at the back of the Pizza Hut at around 10.25am local time on 5 February.
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Stengel's wallet, keys and cellphone were missing from his body, and the criminal complaint suggested Ingram may have tried to cover his tracks by clocking out for Stengel and sending texts from his phone to a regional manager.
During the investigation, police said they found a gun in a backpack in Ingram's home.
Ingram has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.
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He is being held on a $200,000 bond.
UNILAD has contacted Pizza Hut for comment.
Emily Brown