Two 19-year-old Clayton men, Timothy E. Mosley and Austin G. Myers, face the death penalty in the case and are being held without bond in the Warren County Jail.
Court records list dozens of pieces of evidence gathered by detectives from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and technicians from the Miami Valley Crime Laboratory. In addition to Back’s wallet, the records list the car allegedly used in the crime and a long list of blood-stained items, including a Northmont Thunderbolts backpack.
Myers attended Northmont High in Clayton with Mosley after moving from Warren County, where he attended school in Waynesville with Back, officials said.
On Jan. 27, Mosley and Myers allegedly delayed plans to burglarize Back’s home on Corwin Road in Wayne Twp.
“They were surprised when Justin was home. They left that day and discussed plans to return to the residence at a later time to kill Justin Back and steal property and money,” Det. Thomas Naumovski said in affidavits filed in Warren County Common Pleas Court.
In a Feb. 4 court hearing, Det. Michael Wyatt said he learned during interrogation of Mosley at the Clayton Police Department from late Jan. 28 into early Jan. 29 that Mosley and Myers developed the plan at the McDonald’s in Waynesville before buying materials for a garrote, a choking tool, as well as supplies to use to clean up afterward at stores in Montgomery County.
Investigators found ammonia containers and other materials, as well as receipts for items bought at several Dayton-area stores in a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier spotted outside Back’s home on Jan. 28, according to the search warrants.
Mosley and Myers each face two counts of aggravated murder, either of which could result in the death penalty if prosecutors also convince the jury that Myers and Mosley are guilty of kidnapping, aggravated burglary or aggravated robbery. They are also accused of abuse of a corpse, grand theft of a firearm, tampering with evidence and safecracking.
Mosley and Myers are accused of stealing a safe from Back’s home and shooting Back’s body with his stepfather’s gun before dumping it in woods on Fudge Road in West Alexandria.
Safe parts, a coin collection, and spent and live rounds were among more than 50 pieces of evidence found in the car, according to the search warrants.
On Monday, the Preble County Coroner’s Office released the preliminary autopsy identifying 21 stab wounds, choke marks and two “post-mortem gunshot wounds” on Back’s body.
Investigators also collected clothing, used pop cans, shoe and tire impressions and Mosley’s iPhone, as well as swabbings from Mosley’s and Myers’ mouths, taken to obtain DNA profiles used to link them to the crime, according to the court records.
The newspaper was able to obtain records from some warrants returned in Warren County Common Pleas Court, but judges have sealed other warrants served in Warren County and Vandalia.
Lawyers appointed Friday to defend Mosley and Myers could not be reached.
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