Missing NWI Teenagers Found Dead, 17-Year-Old Suspect To Be Charged With Murder
Chicago (CBS) -- The weeklong search for two missing teens has ended in the families' worst fears coming true.
The Indiana couple, 18 and 19-years-old, was found dead, and now a Porter County prosecutor says a 17-year-old in custody will be charged with their murders Monday morning.
Friends say Thomas Grill and Molley Lanham were an on-and-off couple. They were known to take road trips, so at first people weren't that worried.
Even police last week had not suspected foul play.
RELATED 17-Year-Old To Be Charged With Murder In Case Of 2 Missing NWI Teens
Grill and Lanham were last seen Feb. 25. Police put out a missing persons alert along with a description of their vehicle. The pair was believed to be either in Valparaiso or New Lenox.
Alex Bautista was Grill's best friend. He said Grill recently got off house arrest for drug-related charges.
"I just thought he was smart enough to get out of it," Bautista said. "It's not like he wanted to do it. It was just that he was kind of lost. He didn't know what else to do."
A Lake Superior Court complaint against Grill references a Smith and Wesson handgun and details his arrest by the Lowell Police Department last April. Police found Grill with large amounts of marijuana and pot edibles in the trunk of his car.
Police say that car has now been found burned out in southern Porter County. They are not releasing any details about the teens' murders, including if they were near the car or how they died.
The suspect is being held at the Porter County Jail in Valparaiso.
Molley Lanham's mother and sister were too upset Sunday to make any comments.
Bautista said she was a sweet and loving girl and was not at all involved in any criminal activities that Grill may have been caught up in.
