Jul. 3—A Sharon man has been charged with killing and dismembering a missing 14-year boy.

State police charged DaShawn Watkins, 29, of Sharon, with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of Paul Likens Jr., who was initially reported missing on June 25, and was suspected of being missing since June 22.

Later the same day, Hermitage police were called to an area of Shenango Lake in Clark, where they found dismembered human remains. Over the course of the next week, additional dismembered remains were found in the around surrounding the lake.

The Mercer County Coroner’s Office has ruled Likens’ death the result of sharp force trauma to the head.

Information obtained from Likens’ cell phone shows he walked to the Budd Street Public Park and Canoe Launch on June 23 around 3 a.m., police said. Multiple surveillance videos showed Likens, who appeared to be on his phone and waiting for someone, according to court records.

Several of those videos were used by police to identify a vehicle in the area where Likens was.

Video showed a man later identified as Watkins going in and out of Riverwalk Apartments. In one video he is struggling to carry a large duffel bag, according to a criminal complaint.

On June 24, video showed Watkins making several trips out of his apartment carrying a series of duffel and garbage bags. A preliminary test showed blood at multiple locations in Watkins’ apartment, including under the bathroom flooring.

Watkins was held without bail after being charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. A July 17 preliminary hearing is scheduled in District Judge Travis Martwinski’s courtroom in Sharon.

Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.