138. Body in a Barrel (1)

George Gobel thinks that he might have helped dump his own sister’s body. George told police that recently his brother-in-law Russell had asked him to help move a big metal barrel out of his house. “I’ll buy you a case of Bud,” Russell promised. The barrel was in the master bedroom. George remembers that when he was looking at the barrel, he happened to ask Russell, “Where’s Staci?” Russell told him that she was out shopping.Oddly, the barrel was warm to the touch. “What’s in here?” George asked. Russell said it was just some old rags and engine parts. He wanted to get rid of them because he had heard that spontaneous combustion could occur. George said that he thought it might be occurring at that very moment.The barrel was very heavy. He asked Russell if the whole engine was inside the barrel. Russell just grunted. Once they got it outside, they rolled it to the back of Russell’s pickup truck. George helped Russell position a metal motorcycle ramp behind the truck, and they pushed the barrel slowly up into the bed of the pickup. When they finished, George told Russell that this was a “two case” move, meaning two cases of Budweiser. Russell told him no problem.