A western Indiana man is facing charges in the murder of his mother, whose body authorities say was burned in a "burn pit" behind her home. According to Local12, Nicholas Thomas Yates, age 20, reported his mother Cheryl missing to the Vermillion County Sheriff's Office, prompting an investigation that would soon turn into a grisly discovery.
The initial missing person's report, filed on Sunday, was riddled with inconsistencies that quickly unraveled after Yates's narrative was scrutinized by authorities. As reported by WTHR, Yates had told officers he hadn't seen his mother since Friday and had been unable to reach her due to a phone error. Adding to the suspicion, Yates admitted to selling his mother's phone for money, despite claiming she had kept the same number for her new phone.
The investigation took a foreboding turn when, according to Law&Crime, detectives discovered a human spinal cord among remains in the burn pit located at the family's property. This macabre finding led to Yates's subsequent arrest, with Indiana State Police commenting that detectives "uncovered criminal activity, determining that the missing person had been murdered."
Yates now resides in the Vermillion County Jail, charged with a single count of murder. Details of the case continue to emerge, a sheriff's deputy was informed by Yates that he did not like to be alone, hence he asked two individuals to move into his mother's room.
