SCRANTON — Two men in Lackawanna County have been charged with strangling a man suffering a drug overdose.
They later dressed up his body to make him look alive, before dumping his body in Susquehanna County, according to investigators.
Preston Layfield, 19, of Throop and Tyler Mirabelli, 22, of Clarks Summit face aggravated assault and conspiracy charges in the death of Joshua Rose, 21, of Luzerne.
Troopers said Rose suffered from a possible overdose on Thursday, August 25th, in a home in Scranton.
The two men and a woman drove Rose to Susquehanna County while he was overdosing on drugs. State Police say they strangled Rose with jumper cables as they were traveling on the highway, before dumping him in the woods.
“Bottom line, they drove right past a hospital and continued north on I-81. At this time, we are not sure why they did that,” said Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Mark Prushinski.
Troopers say before the trio stopped for gas, they placed a hat and sunglasses on the victim.
“If someone is od’ing you should help them, right? To the hospital is the number one thing, not strangle them and dump their body. It’s absolutely terrible,” said Brandon Ritter of Lenoxville.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the woman, Amanda Wayda, 20. State police say she called police on Sunday and told them she had witnessed a murder.
An autopsy for Joshua Rose is scheduled for Tuesday. Prosecutors say after that they expect to file more serious charges.
