Chakradhari dasa
?–1983
New Vrindaban devotee killed in 1983; his body was found in 1987.
Life
Chakradhari dasa (legal name Charles St. Denis) was a member of the New Vrindaban community in West Virginia. According to the Fourth Circuit’s account of the trial evidence, Daniel Reid (Daruka) and Thomas Drescher (Tirtha das) lured him to Reid’s house on 10 June 1983, shot and stabbed him, and buried him.
His body had not been found when Drescher was convicted of his murder in Marshall County in December 1986 (UPI, 1986; California Court of Appeal, 1990). In 1987 Reid, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, helped police find his remains in a grave under a creek on community land (Lede News; Oxygen). A memorial service was held for him in 2016 (WTOV9).
Named here because they have died and the case is public record.
Cases
1- The killing of Charles St. Denis (Chakradhari dasa), New Vrindaban, 1983
Charles St. Denis (Chakradhari dasa) was killed at New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on 10 June 1983. Thomas Drescher (Tirtha das) was convicted of his murder by a Marshall County jury in December 1986 and sentenced to life; Daniel Reid (Daruka) pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and helped police find the body, which was recovered from a grave under a creek on community land in 1987.
New Vrindabaninvolves 2 people · 2 entries
People connected
Everyone named in the cases above, with their role and the current status of what they are accused of.
- DefendantConvictedMurder of Charles St. Denis (1983)Convicted of first-degree murder, Marshall County, December 1986; life imprisonment
- DefendantConvictedKilling of Charles St. Denis (1983)Pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and testified against Drescher; led police to the grave in 1987
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