Second person charged in death of man who was shot, dragged

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A second person has been charged in the death of a man who was shot and then dragged by a vehicle behind a vacant St. Louis home.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 24-year-old Joseph Griffin, of St. Louis, was charged Saturday with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, abandonment of a corpse and two counts of armed criminal action in the death of 49-year-old Mario Amerson. He lived in the Mehlville area of unincorporated St. Louis County.

The investigation began Dec. 2 when Amerson’s body was found behind the home in the city’s Marine Villa neighborhood. He had been shot multiple times and surveillance video showed his body was then dragged by a vehicle behind the home.

At the time of the death, Griffin was on parole in connection to a second-degree burglary conviction.

Last month, a 21-year-old woman was charged with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in the shooting.