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Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Dismembering Mother, Stepfather

PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- It was December 16, 2014 when police got a call from Angela Harris - concerned she hadn't heard from her mother Olivia Gilbert in three days.

Inside 233 Suncrest Drive in Penn Hills, detectives found her brother Frederick Harris III in a bedroom and seven garbage cans in the basement.

Inside the cans is where the horror began.

On Thursday, Detective Patrick Kinavey told the jury one of the first things he saw when he looked inside was a human head.

Police say the body parts found in the cans were those of Olivia and Lamar Gilbert.

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The jury saw several photos, including those of a piece of blood-soaked carpet detectives say was ripped from the floor, bottles of bleach and cleaner and a receipt for a 45 gallon garbage can from Home Depot from earlier that day.

In 2015, a detective testified that Harris's fingerprints were found on the garbage bags and a note was found on him.

It read: "Thanks for house sitting and fixing up the place while we were on vacation. See you soon, tell everyone hello. P.S. Don't answer the door for anyone."

A relative told police the note was not written in the hand of the victims, but rather in the hand of Harris.

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