TRENTON — A local man found his girlfriend's dead body, put her in a garbage bag, and left the remains in his apartment after he was evicted months later, according to officials.

David Gibson, 44, is charged with desecrating human remains, evidence tampering, and hindering, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri announced Wednesday.

Onofri said the victim's decomposed body was found in a garbage bag at 615 Beatty Street by the property's landlord on Dec. 23, 2022. Gibson had rented the apartment but was evicted on Nov. 18.

The landlord told investigators he noticed the bag's "foul odor" before he saw a human skull inside, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities say Gibson put the body in the garbage bag months earlier.

"He is accused of placing the victim in the garbage bag after the victim was deceased, moving the trash bag to a different area, concealing the victim’s remains, and not contacting authorities," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Gibson told police the body was his late girlfriend Kirshon Smith. Gibson said he found her dead in July and first moved the body to their bed for about two weeks before moving the corpse into a garbage bag, which he lived with for five months while it sat in the closet, the court document states.

After Gibson was evicted, the bag stayed in the closet for over a month.

An autopsy has been performed on the body, but the Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner's Office is still trying to ascertain a cause of death.

Gibson was arrested last week outside the Trenton Transit Center. He is not facing any charges related to the victim's death.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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