2 teens found dead in Pottsville basement
POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - March 21, 2008 Joshua Brian Yevak, 19, of Pottsville, and girlfriend Cayla
Cierra Turner, 17, of Port Carbon, had been dead for at least a
week, Schuylkill County Coroner Joseph Lipsett said Friday. The
bodies were found stacked and covered with a blanket, police said.
Police charged Norman Edward Nickle, 53, with two counts of
criminal homicide after the bodies were discovered late Thursday.
Yevak lived less than three blocks from Nickle.
Police believe the deaths could have occurred as early as March
3, when Turner went missing.
According to court documents cited Friday by the Republican &
Herald of Pottsville, Nickle told police he covered the bodies so
he did not have to look at them when he was doing laundry.
Yevak had gunshot wounds to the arm and chest, possibly caused
by a single bullet, Lipsett said. Turner was shot twice, once in
the leg and once in the head, the coroner said.
Autopsies were scheduled on Saturday for Turner and on Monday
for Yevak.
Yevak's sister, Melissa Bitler, told the newspaper that her
brother had known the suspect for years and would have trusted him.
Many local government offices were closed Friday for the holiday
weekend, and it was not immediately clear if Nickle had an
attorney.
Nickle has several previous arrests in Schuylkill County on
charges including drunken driving, driving on a suspended license
and criminal trespass, according to court records.