Norristown man sentenced to 20+ years in murder of man found in trash can

A man will spend more than 20 years in state prison after he admitted to killing a man whose body was found in a trash can in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in November 2025.

On Friday, May 8, Felix Santos-Colon Jr., 46, was sentenced to 22.5 to 45 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murdering 44-year-old Oscar Traviezo-Tercero.

According to officials, on Nov. 10, 2025, a man who was near the Schuylkill River Trail in Norristown noticed a foul smell coming from a trash can in a wooded area. The man opened the trash can and saw what he thought was a human leg. He then called 911.

Responding police officers noticed there were bicycle parts scattered near the trash bin. Investigators later identified the body inside the bin as Oscar Traviezo-Tercero. An autopsy conducted on Nov. 11 determined Traviezo-Tercero had several fractures on the back of his skull. A forensic pathologist determined he died from blunt force trauma to the head and his death was ruled a homicide. Investigators said he had been beaten with a baseball bat.

Investigators later determined Traviezo-Tercero and Santos-Colon Jr. were both unhoused in Norristown and were sleeping in the car wash at Global Gas on Main Street.

Police said they had previously met Traviezo-Tercero on Nov. 2, 2025, when he called 911 to report that he was trying to protect Santos-Colon Jr.’s girlfriend, investigators said. However, the woman left the scene before Norristown police arrived, according to officials.

The last time Traviezo-Tercero was seen alive was on Nov. 4, investigators said. Surveillance video from Nov. 5 showed Santos-Colon Jr. leaving Global Gas with a full trash can, according to officials. The video showed bicycle parts and other items sticking out of the top of the can, investigators said.

The video also showed another man on a bicycle next to Santos-Colon Jr., officials said.

As the two men move along the Schuylkill River Trail, the other man gets off his bike and helps him push the trash can up a hill, according to investigators. Once the trash can was on the trail, the other man rode his bicycle westbound, bought a beer at a store on Main Street and then returned to Global Gas, investigators said.

In the days after the murder, Santos-Colon Jr. told his children he had done something bad and planned to take his own life, according to court documents. He was then arrested on Saturday, Nov. 15, and charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime.

Santos-Colon Jr. told investigators he was angry at Traviezo-Tercero. He also said Traviezo-Tercero had threatened him a day before the murder, according to police.

Court documents also show Santos-Colon Jr. was involved in another incident back in August 2023 at a McDonald’s parking lot. During that incident, Santos-Colon Jr. was under the influence and used a machete to attack another man, according to investigators. Officials say Santos-Colon Jr. swung the machete at the other man’s head. The other man was cut on the hand as he tried to protect himself.

Santos-Colon Jr. was sentenced to time served and released on supervision in connection to that incident.