BROOKSVILLE, Ky. — Three men and a woman were charged Thursday in connection with the shooting deaths of two Northern Kentucky men at a rural Bracken County farmhouse on Dec. 16.

Baker	Kirk
Duffy	Malapelli

        Douglas Baker Jr., 20, and Ronald L. Kirk, 23, both of Covington's Latonia neighborhood, are scheduled to be arraigned todayon two counts each of murder and four counts each of tampering with physical evidence in the shooting deaths of Ryan Eric Matchison, 22, of Florence, and Adam C. Harvey, 20, of Elsmere.

        Also charged with four counts of tampering with physical evidence were 18-year-old Dawn Duffy of Bellevue and Russell W. Malapelli, 27, of Dayton, Ky.

        The four were part of a group of six people that spent that December weekend at a farmhouse near Brooksville. The other two were Mr. Matchison and Mr. Harvey, police said.

        Their bodies were found Dec. 17 near a boat ramp off Ky. 8 in rural Bracken County by a passing motorist. Both had been shot and their bodies wrapped in sleeping bags and a tarpaulin.

        Police remained mum about a motive for the killings, which took place at the farmhouse, owned by the Harvey family, about 15 miles from where the bodies were found. But Kentucky State Police Detective Tim Layne said Thursday that authorities did not think drugs, alcohol or robbery played a part in the murders.

        “We can't discuss details or evidence,” Detective Layne said.

        “We do know both men were killed at the farmhouse, and one was lying on a couch and the other on a bed when they were shot,” he said.

Exterior of the Latonia apartment at 312 W. 35th St. where police arrested two of the four suspects charged with murder. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        “We don't know if they were asleep.”

        Detective Layne, who with State Police Detective Steve Auvenshine led the investigation, said all six people arrived at the farmhouse about the same time on Thursday, Dec. 14, and all spent the weekend there.

        “They all knew each other,” he said of the victims and the suspects. “I would describe them as friends.”

        Mr. Harvey's father, Jackie, said he only knew of Mr. Malapelli, who was originally acquainted with Mr. Matchison before meeting his son.

        “I do know that's how my son met him,” he said. “The others came into play somewhere else.”

        He said there was no evidence at the farmhouse of any drug use or heavy alcohol use.

        Detective Auvenshine said there was some indication that the killings were considered before the six people arrived at the farmhouse, but he would not elaborate.

        “Neither victim had any money on them when the bodies were found, but we also know they did not have large sums of money with them that weekend,” Detective Layne said, apparently ruling out robbery as a motive.

        Mr. Baker, Mr. Kirk and Ms. Duffy were arrested at their homes Thursday, and all three are being held at the Mason County Detention Center in Maysville. Mr. Malapelli is in the Kenton County jail serving time on a conviction unrelated to the killings.

        Detective Layne said police found a shotgun in Latonia believed to be the murder weapon, but said it was not found at the home on West 35th Street where Mr. Baker and Mr. Kirk lived.

        Detective Auvenshine emphasized that police found “no evidence of serious partying, no drugs or alcohol, to indicate anything like that. They just went there for the weekend to get away. We can't completely rule out drugs or anything else, but it doesn't appear to go in that direction at this point in the investigation.”

        Neighbors of Mr. Kirk and Mr. Baker said they didn't know the men personally and described them as quiet.

        One neighbor, Terry Dalton, 31, said he asked one of the men to stop littering cigarettes and beer cans on his lawn, but didn't receive much of a response.

        Mr. Dalton also said the men apparently switched jobs a lot because he saw them in several different uniforms.

        Detective Layne said it was obvious that an attempt was made to clean up the murder scene at the farm house, “but they left a lot of things behind.”

        The victims' vehicles were both found in Covington, and Detective Layne said at least one of the cars had also been cleaned. Evidence taken from the farm house and the cars was being analyzed at the State Police lab in Frankfort.
       Stephenie Steitzer contributed to this report.
       
       

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