It’s been months in the making but finally there are arrests in the case of bodies buried in the Back Mountain. Two men are now in custody for killing two of the five victims.
The arrests in Luzerne County come four months after police found five bodies in makeshift graves at a home in Kingston Township. Police initially went to the home on Mount Olivet Road looking for a Tunkhannock area pharmacist and his girlfriend. They were tipped the two were buried there and in the end, police found the five bodies.
The first homicide arrests were Hugo Selenski, 30, who lived at the home and who police accuse of the execution-style shooting of two of the victims and Patrick Russin, 33, of Dallas. Investigators say Russin was there in May and eventually detailed the killings to police.
“The victims are identified as Frank James, also known as Rudy of New York City and Adeiye Keiler, also known as Redman, who is a legal alien from Guyana with an address of Mercer Avenue in Kingston,” said D.A. David Lupas.
“The question that probably arises is why did it take so long? It’s a complex investigation,” said Captain Carmen Altavilla of Pennsylvania State Police.
Police say Selenski is a drug dealer who planned to rob and kill the two men who were also drug dealers. “I have nothing to say. You’ll see at trial,” Selenski told reporters Monday.
“We’re at a comfort level where we could bring these charges but our work is not over. It’s just another step,” said Lupas. Privately police say they believe Selenski also murdered at least four of the five people found buried. Although they don’t yet have enough evidence for more charges.
Investigators said they were surprised to find the dead drug dealers. They were initially sent to the Kingston Township home to look for the bodies of Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett. Kerkowski was a Tunkhannock area pharmacist charged with illegally dealing drugs. Fassett and Kerkowski disappeared in 2002. Their bodies were also found in the yard in Kingston Township.
One high-ranking police investigator told Newswatch 16 they believe Selenski is responsible for their deaths too, although he is not yet charged.
Police call the yard a graveyard for bad guys. Police are not talking about the fifth set of remains although they believe that person was also a drug dealer.