In the late summer of 2016, the life of 24-year-old Joseph Trevor Dilger was tragically cut short in Lexington, Kentucky. A graduate of Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School and a member of the 1st Battalion 149th Infantry in the National Guard, Joseph was a young man with a future ahead of him. However, on September 4, 2016, his journey came to a violent and horrifying end. On that day, authorities were called to a grim scene on Redd Road near Elkchester Road, where a car was engulfed in flames.
Inside the burning vehicle, they made the devastating discovery of Joseph's body. An investigation was immediately launched, and it was soon determined that he had been shot and killed before the fire was set.
The investigation into Joseph's death uncovered a dark story of drugs and betrayal. It was revealed that Joseph would sometimes lend his car to a woman named Christie Michelle Hanley in exchange for drugs. On the day of his murder, he had gotten into the car with Hanley and another individual, Jeremy Deshun Leroy Harris, with the intention of getting his vehicle back. At some point during this encounter, a fatal altercation occurred, and Harris shot Joseph twice. The events that followed were a desperate attempt to conceal the heinous crime.
After the shooting, Hanley pulled the car over, and she and Harris got out. They were later picked up by Hanley's nephew, Justin Scott Slone. The trio then went to a gas station to purchase gasoline. Returning to the car on Redd Road, they moved it to an access road and set it ablaze with Joseph's body still inside, in an attempt to destroy any evidence of the murder. Their efforts, however, were ultimately futile.
The Lexington police investigation led to the arrests of all three individuals involved. Jeremy Deshun Leroy Harris, then 25, was charged with murder, facilitation of second-degree arson, evidence tampering, abuse of a corpse, and wanton endangerment. He pleaded guilty but mentally ill and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Christie Michelle Hanley, then 35, pleaded guilty in 2017 to third-degree arson, evidence tampering, and abuse of a corpse, receiving a five-year prison sentence which she has since served. Justin Scott Slone, then 27, also faced charges related to his involvement in the cover-up.
