Peoria freezers find body.
NEW DETAILS AND DISMEMBERMENT CHARGES ADDED AFTER MAN FOUND DEAD IN FREEZER
July 17, 2026, Peoria, IL - Peoria County State's Attorney Jodi Hoos released new details today regarding the death of 41-year-old David L. King, who was found inside a freezer at an East Bluff residence on Monday. The information includes additional charges, the cause of death, and video footage that shows King being strangled.
Portia Stokes, 26, and Michael R. Jansen, 29, were charged Wednesday with First-Degree Murder and Concealment of a Homicidal Death in connection with the death of King. Today, the charge of Dismembering a Human Body was added against both defendants.
On July 13, 2026, police responded to a welfare check at a home in the 500 block of E. Seneca. When officers knocked on the door, no one answered, and they entered the home. Inside, officers found Stokes and took her into custody. Officers discovered King inside a freezer with cuts on his body. He had been in there long enough that his body was completely frozen.
According to preliminary autopsy results, King's cause of death was ligature strangulation with suffocation. He was found to have multiple ligature marks around his neck. During today's hearing, prosecutors played a video taken while the victim was still alive with the defendants and described gruesome pictures of King's body being severely mutilated and cut up.
During the investigation, officers obtained a search warrant for Jansen's phone, where they recovered the video. It was video footage from July 10, three days before the victim was found in the freezer. Prosecutors described the video as showing King tied to a bed with a rope around his neck. Stokes is sitting on his face while the victim violently struggles to escape. Because of the graphic nature of the video, it was played privately to the court and defense and only described in open in court.
During an interview with police, Jansen initially told officers that he and Stokes killed King and then moved his body to the freezer. He then changed his story, saying Stokes killed him. When interviewed, Stokes told police that she had "Stored him in the (expletive) freezer and folded him up like a (expletive) pretzel."
The court granted the prosecutor's request for detention and ordered the defendants to remain in custody until trial.
This investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information regarding this incident, please contact the Peoria Police Department at 309-673-4521.
Peoria freezers find body.
