TOLEDO, Ohio —
Prosecutors questioned Toledo police Det. Paul Marchyok, the lead investigator in the case of two teens found dead in the burned-down remains of a Toledo house in 2022, for close to five hours on Monday, the seventh day of the trial for two of the 11 people charged in their deaths.
Charles Walker and Brent Kohlhoffer have both pleaded not guilty to two aggravated murder charges, two murder charges and two kidnapping charges they face in the deaths of 16-year-old Ke’Marion Wilder and 15-year-old Kyshawn Pittman.
Wilder and Pittman were last seen on Dec. 3, 2022, setting off an investigation that led to the discovery of their bodies in the remnants of a burned, vacant north Toledo house.
Marchyok said he had to make decisions on what pieces of evidence he submitted to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations for DNA testing, as not everything could get tested. He said he petitioned for extra items to be tested in this case.
The detective said he executed search warrants for cell phones at Walker's home and the data on them.
On Walker's girlfriend's phone, Marchyok said he found hotel reservations starting on Dec. 15, 2022, the day police began to dig on the property where the bodies of the two boys were found. Marchyok said there were three reservations, one for a hotel in Maumee and two for hotels in Perrysburg.
Marchyok said through cell phone records and surveillance footage, he was able to put together a timeline of events. He said he was initially able to find Walker's cell phone on Dec. 3 near Sylvania Avenue and Jackman Road in west Toledo. After receiving a call from Kohlhoffer, his phone moved toward the 3000 block of Chase Street, where Kohlhoffer lived. The house where the teens' bodies were found is on this block, too.
Surveillance footage shows Walker's black Chevy Impala moving in the same direction as the cell phone records show.
The defense made several objections because the license plate number could not be seen on all of the security footage.
The security footage also showed the moments leading up to the house fire on the morning of Dec. 5.
The trial is set to continue Tuesday. Walker and Kohlhoffer are just two of eleven people facing charges in this case.
Corbin Gingrich on May 1 pleaded guilty under seal to unknown charges. He was originally charged with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping and obstructing justice.
A 14-year-old and a 17-year-old were sentenced last summer to one year and six months, respectively, in an Ohio Department of Youth Services in the case.
Diamond Rivera was sentenced last summer to three years of community control and 270 days in prison. A judge found her guilty of obstructing justice.
Crystal Yingling LaForge was found guilty of the same charge as Rivera and sentenced to 270 days at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio and 36 months of community control.
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