SCRANTON -- Two young men have been accused of killing their friend and their arrests came Friday morning while family and friend were paying respects at the funeral for the victim.
The two suspects arrested are charged with criminal homicide for the death of Frank Bonacci of Dunmore, a man who was reported last month.
"This investigation is a perfect example, if you do the job right, the right result comes to an end," said Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola.
Police say Bonacci, Pal, and Dominick were together July 19 drinking at Pal's house where he had a few friends over for a party. Investigators say around 7 a.m. the following morning the three of them left, and ended up near Ridge Row.
"Three people went into the woods. Two people came out. We're still gathering information, putting some more of the case together, but we thought we had enough information at this point and time to arrest the individuals for the homicide," Jarbola said.
"There's some evidence that this could have been a result of some conflict between one of the individuals arrested over a female," Jarbola added.
Police say when Bonacci's body was found inside of his Jeep Liberty, it was clear that the SUV was intentionally driven over an embankment, about a 72-foot drop.
"There's a lot of rumors floating out there so certain witnesses and individuals didn't know what information we had. When they were confronted with it, the gig was up at that point," said Jarbola.
According to the affidavit, police were able to make a break in this case by looking at Pal's cell phone records. They show that he made four outgoing calls just after 7 a.m. on July 20. Police tell Newswatch 16 Pal and Dominick were picked up on Interstate 81, telling the driver they were near the gorge which is a close distance to where Bonacci's body was found by a friend.
"He seemed like a really nice guy and everything. He just didn't deserve this," said Crystal Siess of Scranton.