In the event you've missed it, a very disturbing case is making news in Prince Township, Pennsylvania, involving the brutal murder of a man who was reported missing earlier this month.
According to Stroud Area Regional Police, 21-year-old Michael Goucher went missing on Feb. 3 after he left his Stroudsburg apartment to meet a friend. The mystery of Michael's disappearance deepened on Feb. 10 when a concerned citizen informed police that Michael's vehicle, a 2000 Buick Century, was in a ditch on Stony Run Lane. The caller told police that he or she first spotted the car on Feb. 8, but, at first, thought nothing of it.
Recent snowfall hindered the initial search of the area surrounding Michael's car; however, on the afternoon of Feb. 11, police made a startling discovery when they found his body in a wooded area roughly two-tenths of a mile from the location where his car was located.
"The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by the Monroe County Coroner David Thomas," reads a police criminal complaint authored by Officers Craig Vanlouvender and James Wheeler. "On Feb. 11, 2009, at approximately 1800 hours, Trooper Craig Vanlouvender spoke with Coroner David Thomas, who advised Trooper Vanlouvender that the victim suffered what appeared to be twenty sharp forced injuries."
The report further states that a cleaver and a knife were found in close proximity to the body. The handle of the knife was wrapped in duct tape. During a further search of the area, investigators found a discarded roll of duct tape under a nearby bridge. The tape was similar to that found on the handle of the knife, so investigators bagged it as evidence.
During the course of the investigation, investigators learned that Michael was supposed to meet with 19-year-old Shawn Nicholas Freemore on the night of his disappearance. When police questioned Freemore, he waived his right to an attorney and agreed to talk to them.
"The defendant (Freemore) admitted to having met the victim in late January 2009, and they had a sexual encounter," reads the criminal complaint. "The defendant related that they had this encounter inside the victim's car, off Snowhill Road in Prince Township Monroe County. The defendant related that a second encounter had been arranged with the victim and was scheduled to take place late on February 3, into early February 4, 2009."
Freemore told police that Michael attempted to have sex with him but that he refused and got out of the car. Michael allegedly followed him, at which time Freemore said he pulled out a knife. A confrontation ensued, during which Freemore stabbed Michael in the neck and stomach. While the victim struggled on the ground, Freemore continued the brutal attack, stabbing Michael multiple times about the body. Afterwards, he said, he went through the victim's pockets and covered him in snow.
After giving his statement to police, Freemore agreed to ride with them to areas relevant to their investigation. During the course of the ride, Freemore told police that a friend, 17-year-old Ian Seagraves, had also been involved in the incident.
According to Freemore's statement, the two had concocted a plan to "meet him, scare him, and kill him." Freemore told police that he had stabbed him in both the neck and stomach and that Seagraves had stabbed Michael in the neck. To back up his story, Freemore said that Seagraves had stolen a DVD of the movie Eagle Eye out of the victim's car and that it could be found at Seagraves' house.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Seagraves' residence, at which time they were able to locate the stolen DVD, along with wooden-handled knives that were similar to the one found at the murder scene.
Later that night, Seagraves, accompanied by his mother, went to the Swiftwater police barracks and willingly spoke with police. However, unlike Freemore, Seagraves was unwilling to implicate himself in the murder. Instead, he told police that he had never talked to or communicated with Michael.
Seagraves did, however, admit to being in Michael's car at one point, but he said that he did not know whose it was and had assumed someone had gotten stuck and had left it alongside the road. Seagraves said that the vehicle was unlocked and that he had gone inside and looked around. When asked if he had attempted to move the vehicle, Seagraves replied, "No, I only sat in the car. I was not trying to get the car out. I don't want to get linked to this murder thing." The questioning then came to an abrupt halt, as Seagraves' mother requested an attorney for her son.
The following day, investigators questioned two unidentified individuals who informed them that Seagraves had admitted to helping Freemore kill Michael and had changed his MySpace moniker to "ThrOwt Stabba."
The MySpace profile to which the informants referred has since been deleted; however, a cache of it is still available on the Internet. The "About Me" section reads:
"yo, my names Ian Thomas Seagraves. im a hardcore Juggalo. been down for like 7 years. my carnie name is itsophrenic. im going out with the best girlfriend anyone can ever have. i almost lost her and i wont lose her again. i love her more than anything in the world. i would take a <redacted> storm of bullets for her and my best friends sean, skippy, Fritzy, and Vicki. i also love writing peoms. i won three contests <redacted>!!!! if you dont know, i am kind of crazy since i got out of jail doin 21 months. i hear voices that tell me to kill people, hallucinate, get dillusional sometimes...schitzophrenia runs in my family and i think i caught it early. i also rap under my carnie name. im pretty fresh if i do say so myself. im seventeen years young and im down with the clown till im dead in the ground motha <redacted>!!!MUCH MOTHA <redacted> WICKED CLOWN LOVE!!!!!!WHOOP WHOOP!!!!!" [sic throughout].
According to police, Seagraves is a resident of Cresco. Little else has been released about him. Seagraves' mother, Kathleen Seagraves, recently admitted that her son suffered from psychological problems, but said that he was incapable of committing murder.
"He's just a 17-year-old boy," she said. "Up until now, the worst thing we've ever caught him doing is smoking cigarettes."
One of the "Top Friends" listed on Seagraves' alleged MySpace profile is "Skippy Critter," a username that is allegedly associated with Freemore. The "About Me" section of that profile reads:
"<redacted> ANY PIGS READIN THIS! <redacted> YOU COPS! I CANT SAY IT ENOUGH! <redacted> YOU <redacted> YOU <redacted> YOU! ok lets see, basically everyone calles me Skippy. the name came about because of my friend Megan in 7th grade and it just stuck. Im 18 and bi, but currently leaning towards guys (sry girls) and just because I like guys doenst mean im one of those flaming "OMG" type of people. in fact, most people are suprised when they find out. kinda funny. hmm. Im a big time Furry. dont know what it is. dont worry about it. but i do wear a fox tail and i occasionally wear my ears. still working on them tho. well lets see, im a pretty open person u just have to ask. im also usually pretty laid back. i have a bit of a gutter mind if u dont care about that. if u do i dont really care haha. i love to adventure and discover new things, just a free spirit. my zodiac sign describes me pretty well actually. in a relationship i can be very lovey dovey or cuddly (call me gay or w/e remember im bi, u just gotta deal with my Furry side possibly coming out haha. i just love romance and being in romantic situations. im into a lot of things and im pretty open to trying new suggestions. P.S. my sn is evilpyropunker3. ok. Later. Lately ive been feeling suicidal" [sic throughout].
According to police, Freemore lives in Upper Rock Ledge Estates near Cresco. His home is less than a mile from where Michael's body was found. Freemore and Michael graduated from the same school, two years apart; however, there is no indication that the two ever hung out together.
"Shawn was a loner, kept to himself, didn't have many friends," Principal Lois Palio said in an interview with wnep.com. In regard to Michael, she described him as an "extremely hard worker, very reliable, [with a] great personality."
The victim in this case also allegedly had a profile on MySpace. In it, he described his interests as "video games, bike riding, TV, movies [and] law enforcement." In describing himself, he wrote:
"Hey Everybody. My name is Mike and I'm 21 years old. I'm from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. If you want to chat with me or anything just send me a message on AIM and my s/n is musicboymike."
According to family members, Michael was an outgoing and likable young man. He graduated from East Stroudsburg High School-South in 2006, at which time he joined the military, working as a mechanic in Alaska. Upon his return last summer, he got a job working as a janitor at the high school. Michael was active with the East Stroudsburg Crime Watch and enjoyed participating in the choir at the Zion United Church of Christ.
Police say that both of the suspects in the case have juvenile criminal records. Evidence against Seagraves has reportedly mounted in the past week, with the revelation that police lifted his fingerprint off the roll of duct tape that was found at the murder scene.
Read the Criminal Complaint
Both Freemore and Seagraves are being held without bail on charges of murder, aggravated assault, robbery, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and conspiracy.
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