Two arrested in connection with woman's body found near Shawnee Park

Two suspects were arrested Tuesday in connection with the Monday morning discovery of a dead woman in the treeline near Shawnee Park.

Matthew Morris

Janice M. Leimbach, 62, of Cape Girardeau and Matthew S. Morris, 22, of Gideon, Missouri, were arrested and charged with abandonment of a corpse.

Janice Leimbach

Kadesia Harris, 27, of Cape Girardeau was found dead at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday in a creek bank just west of a parking lot in the 1200 block of S. West End Blvd.

According to a news release from the Cape Girardeau Police Department, Harris was believed to have died inside a residence from a self-induced drug overdose. After her death, Morris allegedly wrapped Harris' body in plastic material and put her inside a plastic container. He, along with Leimbach, transported the body and abandoned it in the woodline near a creek next to Shawnee Park.

Cape Girardeau County Judge Frank Miller issued arrest warrants on Leimbach and Morris, who are being held at the Cape Girardeau Police Department jail, and the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuter's Office has formally charged the two with the class E felony of abandonment of a corpse. Morris and Leimbach are being held on $100,000 and $25,000 cash-only bond, respectively.

Harris' family has created a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of funeral expenses. Anyone who wishes to donate may do so at www.gofundme.com/f/kadesia-harris-final-expenses.

The case remains under investigation, and anyone with any information may contact the department by calling (573) 339-6313, texting "CAPEPD" to 847411, filling out the form online or downloading the "CapePD Tips" app on the Apple App Store for iPhone or Google Play for Android.