'Backyard Bones' Defendant Acquitted

A Pennsylvania ex-convict who was found with the remains of perhaps 12 people in his backyard was acquitted by a jury of murder charges, but authorities immediately charged him with two other murders.

Hugo Selenski (pictured) was found not guilty of the murders of Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, not guilty of two robbery charges and one charge of conspiracy. The jury did find him guilty of abusing the corpses of two drug dealers.

The jury deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge in Frank James' death. A mistrial was declared. Selenski can be retried for the murder.

Prosecutors claimed that Selenski and an accomplice shot and robbed James and Keiler, suspected drug dealers, then burned their bodies in a firepit with gasoline. Police found garbage bags containing the remains of at least five and as many as 12 people in Selenski's backyard.

As soon as the jury found Selenski not guilty, authorities charged him with the murders of Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend Tammy Lynn Fassett, whose bodies were found in a shallow grave near Selenski's house. Kerkowski was a pharmacist linked to drug dealers in the area.

See Also:
Ex-con With Bodies Buried in Yard Acquitted on Murder Counts

Earlier Article:
'Backyard Bones' Murder Trial to Begin