**Oscar De Santiago Soto dies in fatal Montevallo fire**

**Oscar De Santiago Soto dies in fatal Montevallo fire**

Fatal Montevallo fire death of full name of deceased victim Oscar De Santiago Soto

Law enforcement authorities in Montevallo have apprehended a local man following the discovery of a decomposed body within a charred pickup truck, the remains subsequently interred beneath the chassis of a heavy-duty excavating apparatus.

This 56-year-old male, identified as John Wesley Collum, is formally accused by judicial authorities of unlawfully desecrating a corpse, manipulating physical evidence, and obstructing official investigations.

The investigation into the vanishing and potential homicide of the 36-year-old Oscar De Santiago Soto, who belongs to the Pelham community, was initiated by the Montevallo Police Department during the early days of this month.

According to available reports, Soto was last observed by security cameras or other witnesses around 3:30 p.m. on June 18, moving through a public park area named Orr Park located in Montevallo.

The dark-colored pickup truck model 1998 Ford Ranger, which was being operated by Soto, was seen traveling southbound on a road designated as Shelby County Road 73 within Montevallo.

A significant development prompting further law enforcement scrutiny occurred on the 28th of June, when the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office requested the state bureau of investigation to examine Soto’s missing person report.

During the ongoing probe, investigators focused their attention on the vicinity of the 2000 block of Randolph Road in Montevallo, marking it as a potential crime scene. Human skeletal fragments were located at that precise address.

Those remains are undergoing examination by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to definitively establish the victim’s identity.

No further details regarding the condition of the remains or the recovery process were disclosed by officials.

Formal legal accusations detail that Collum provided assistance to another individual in the illicit interment of human remains and the 1998 Ford Ranger, utilizing heavy machinery.

The submitted legal documentation further indicates that Collum set the deceased person and the pickup truck on fire before proceeding to cover both with earth and the equipment.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) confirmed that the official investigation remains in progress.

Multiple agencies are collaborating on this case, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigative unit, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montevallo Police Department.

Academic medical professionals from Auburn University’s health sciences division offered assistance in the recovery and examination of the remains.

Further legal actions and potential additional arrests are anticipated as the investigation advances.

Other stories by Carol Robinson:
A 34-year-old resident of Birmingham lost his life 14 months after being shot in an incident in Ensley.
A teenage resident of Gardendale has been killed in the city’s first reported homicide incident since 2023.
A well-known entertainer praised former Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin for the city’s declining murder statistics.
A family is holding a birthday vigil for a man who was killed by his cousin in an incident that was ruled justified.
A store employee was shot at during a holdup attempt at a Dollar General store in Birmingham’s Five Points West neighborhood.
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