Woman Allegedly Dismembered Boyfriend, Lived With Remains For Days, Claims Men Forced Her To Clean Up Blood

Kathryn Podgurski, 33, is accused of stabbing her boyfriend more than 40 times and dismembering his body. Then, she lived with the remains for several days, according to People. The Massachusettes woman claims that men came in, killed Joseph Shaw, 44, and forced her to clean up the blood. Family members of the victim would later discover missing body parts in a backpack.

Shaw’s remains were discovered after Podgurski sent a text message to her sister, who then called the police. Officers met the suspect at a nearby hotel. Kathryn said she didn’t contact authorities because the alleged murderers told her not to. She gave police the key to the apartment, and Joseph’s decomposing body was discovered in a closet.

In an arrest report, Massachusetts state trooper Michael DiMarzio wrote that parts of Shaw’s arm and leg were missing. Joseph Shaw’s family would later find the missing body parts in a backpack. Police did not recover the limbs when they initially searched the apartment. Somehow, the backpack was overlooked, even though the zipper had blood on it and was in plain sight. The victim’s niece, Jacina Shaw, told the Boston Herald about finding the rest of Joseph’s body.

“It was heavy, and when I opened it, his foot popped up. We dumped it out on the bed, and there was another bag that we assume was his arm. We couldn’t figure out why the police didn’t find it. It was in plain sight.”

MassLive reported that the missing limbs were found by Shaw’s family. This was confirmed by Beth Stone, a spokesperson for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

The district attorney said that Shaw’s body had been in the apartment for “a number of days.” He also stated that there is no evidence suggesting the man had been killed elsewhere. According to CBS Boston, Cruz called it a heinous crime.

“I think it’s particularly heinous, I mean there were obviously over 40 stab wounds with loss of limbs. That’s heinous and obviously, it’s a very serious matter.”

Family members reported the victim missing on July 17. His body was not found until July 21, when police were alerted by the suspect’s sister.

https://www.facebook.com/masslive/posts/10154976020577029

According to a neighbor, the suspect began staying at Shaw’s apartment last month. He apparently knew her from the homeless shelter where he used to work. One man who knew Kathryn said she was a nice woman but had a “mean temper.”

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Initially, Kathryn Podgurski was being held as an accessory to the murder. However, on Monday, she was officially charged with killing Joseph Shaw. The Brockton woman is behind bars and was denied bond.

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