HAMMOND, Ind., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Convicted murderer David Maust of Hammond, Ind., released from prison in 1999, was charged Thursday in connection with the disappearance of three teenagers.
Maust, 49, was charged with one count of murder after officials found bodies believed to be those of the missing teenagers buried beneath fresh concrete in the basement of his home.
Two bodies were discovered Tuesday and a third Wednesday, all in a reportedly highly decomposed state.
Hammond Police Chief John Cory said two bodies, possibly strangulation or suffocation victims, were buried approximately six inches in the ground, under more than an inch of concrete.
Cory said the third body, the apparent victim of blunt trauma, was found inside a slab of concrete above the basement floor.
Detectives found the bodies during a search for three missing Hammond teenagers who had reportedly been friendly with Maust. Two of the boys -- 13-year-old Michael Dennis and 16-year-old James Raganyi -- were reported missing Sept. 10 and were presumed to be runaways.
Investigators said they believe the third body is that of 19-year-old Nicholas James.
CNN said Maust had served a prison term for the murder of a 15-year-old Illinois boy.
