A stranded driver quickly faced manslaughter charges after he called police for a jump, a mistake that led to them finding a bullet-riddled body inside his vehicle.
Jihad Gasaway, 23, was arrested Tuesday after he pulled into a ditch on Interstate 80 in Iowa, where patrol officers found him trying to reload his car.
an arrest report claims Gasaway “after an initial investigation” pulled a handgun from his pocket, which led to a search of his vehicle.
Under a layer of dirty clothes in the passenger vehicle, cops discovered the body of Kemp Harriel, 26, who was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.
Jihad Gasaway, 23, faces charges of first-degree murder after a body was found in his wrecked car when police gave him a boost.
Kemp Harriel (26) was discovered in the passenger side of Gasaway’s car under dirty clothes. An autopsy determined he died from two gunshot wounds fired at close range, and the death was ruled a homicide
Gasaway’s wrecked Chevrolet Malibu was first reported in a ditch around 6 a.m. He asked the police to help start his car and told them about the handgun.
The search led to the discovery of Harriel, and Gasaway was arrested. Police put him in an Iowa State trooper’s car, where police say he repeatedly pleaded, ‘Please be okay.’
Under questioning at the Poweskiek County Sheriff’s Office, Gasaway told officers he covered Harriel because he “thought he was very cold.”
“(I) was keeping him warm because we were both cold, I was just waiting for the police,” he said, according to the arrest report.
‘I didn’t know (victim) was gone until I watched the police eyes and read his lips, that’s when I started crying in the car. He was alive and talking to me.’
Officers noted that, despite his insistence, Gasaway “did not notify anyone of the male subject in the vehicle,” “did not call 911 to request medical assistance,” and did not tell troopers about Harriel until they did not find his body.
The gruesome discovery came after Gasaway’s car broke down on the side of the road on Interstate 80 in Iowa, where he asked troopers to help him get it started.
Tributes poured in for Harriel following his tragic death, with friends describing him as always ‘making sure everyone had a good time’ and being the ‘life of the party’.
When asked if Harriel was still alive when the car went into the ditch, Gasaway claimed he was, coldly replying that the two men ‘got into the ditch’.
Investigators later determined that the shooting occurred on the passenger side of the vehicle, with a 9mm shell casing in the front floorboard and two bullets inside the front passenger door.
Examination of the shell casing also found it was fired from the same gun found on Gasaway, according to the arrest report.
An autopsy the next day found that Harriel had died from two gunshot wounds fired at close range, and the death was ruled a homicide.
Gasaway was initially only charged with abuse of a corpse, before the death was ruled a homicide. He was charged on October 5 with first degree murder.
Harriel’s friend Alexus Mae paid a heartbreaking tribute to the 26-year-old, saying he did not deserve the gruesome death
Harriel was remembered by many as a loving person, with a fundraiser set up to pay for his funeral costs saying he was the ‘type of person who made it his mission to make you smile’
Tributes poured in for Harriel following his death, with friend Alexus Mae posting social media that he ‘didn’t deserve it.’
‘I’m having such a hard time processing this,’ she wrote.
‘You were always so kind-hearted and sincere always kept 100 with me. One thing for sure, you made sure that everyone had a good time around you and you were always the life of the party. You will be missed and loved forever! RIP Kemp.’
A GoFundMe was also created by his loved ones to help pay for funeral costs, who noted that he was ‘loved by many’.
‘He left his mark on anyone who ever met him. The most giving and kindest soul always looked out for his loved ones and his friends,’ the fundraiser continued.
‘He was someone who nurtured and exhibited relationships. The type of person who made it his mission to make you smile.’