Three charged in killing, dismemberment

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VERONA, Ohio, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Three men accused in the death of a 19-year-old convicted drug dealer said they killed and dismembered him because they thought he was evil, Ohio police say.

Boone County deputies found the body of Daniel Delfin Monday night in a field in Verona next to a house he shared with his mother, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday.

Only his legs and torso were found. His head, arms and feet were missing and likely thrown into a trash bin, deputies said.

Delfin is believed to have been killed Jan. 9. Deputies began looking for him after his sister reported him missing Sunday.

While searching for Delfin, deputies said they received a tip the three men were involved in his death.

They arrested Jeffrey Allen, 21, and Stephen Harkness, 22, both of Verona, and Anthony Baumgartner, 23, of Florence.

Once in custody, deputies said, the men said Delfin was killed because they wanted to remove evil from the world.

The men had lured Delfin to a location with a ruse they wanted to buy drugs from him, deputies said. They beat and strangled him and then took him to another location where they again beat and strangled him before cutting up his body.

Delfin was arrested in May 2012 on a charge of selling heroin near a high school. He was released in November after being sentenced in October to five years probation and 180 days in jail.