SCRANTON -- Three friends, behind bars since this summer, have now been charged with first degree murder for the death of another friend -- Joshua Rose.
At a preliminary hearing Friday, prosecutors revealed new details about how the three allegedly strangled rose and dumped his body in Susquehanna County.
Prosecutors had been waiting until the preliminary hearing to file the upgraded charges of first and third-degree murder against Preston Layfield, Tyler Mirabelli, and Amanda Wayda for the death of Joshua Rose back in August.
Today, Layfield turned against the other two and testified against them. He's now the star witness in the murder case he is a defendant in.
Layfield testified that back in August that all three co-defendants got into a truck in Scranton with Joshua Rose who was overdosing on opiates.
Tyler Mirabelli drove the truck toward Susquehanna County. Amanda Wayda put a plastic bag over Rose's head and Preston Layfield strangled Rose with jumper cables. On the stand, he confessed that he pulled the cords around Rose's neck for about ten minutes.
"The information we have that we're relying on is that he passed away in the vehicle due to strangulation in Lackawanna County, he was then transported to Susquehanna County," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Mariclare Hayes.
What we don't know for sure is why.
Layfield told the court that when Rose started to overdose, Wayda did not want to call 911 because she had outstanding warrants. She would have been protected by the good samaritan law.
Layfield's attorney says they are working on a plea deal in exchange for his testimony.
"He was very close to Mr. Mirabelli, they were very good friends, he did not relish his role today as a witness, nonetheless, I think he wanted the truth to come out," said attorney Paul Ackourey.
Even though he is the star witness, Preston Layfield actually faces the most charges of the three defendants. He is charged with first and third-degree murder both as a principal and an accomplice.