Man accused of dumping cousin's body after heroin overdose

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- An Illinois man is charged with abandonment of a corpse for allegedly dumping the body of a cousin who died of a heroin overdose near a St. Louis County creek.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported 40-year-old William Van Zandt of West Frankfort, Illinois, is accused of disposing of the body of 45-year-old Arthur Van Zandt Jr. The body was found in September in a field near a creek in Hazelwood. Police say vegetation and logs were used to conceal the body.

A police probable-cause statement said the men used illegal drugs together before Arthur Van Zandt died. Police found the body a day later.

William Van Zandt is jailed on $5,000 bond and does not yet have an attorney.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com