James Rackover, 26, of Manhattan, and Lawrence Dilione, 28, of Jersey City, N.J., were indicted Wednesday on murder charges stemming from the death of Joseph Comunale, according to the New York Daily News. Comunale was killed on Nov. 13 at the age of 26 at a luxury apartment in Manhattan, and his body was discovered the next day in a shallow grave in New Jersey.
Rackover and Dilione had previously been charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a corpse, but neither had been charged with murder. A third suspect, 29-year-old Max Gemma of Oceanport, N.Y., has also been charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
Related story: Suspects connected to Stamford man's death not arraigned on murder charges
Dilione had previously told prosecutors that he had gotten in a fight with Comunale over cigarettes, but that Rackover was the one who stabbed him, according to the New York Daily News. Rackover later told the New York Daily News that Dilione threw him under the bus to save himself.
Comunale was stabbed 15 times before his body was set on fire and he was buried in the shallow grave, the New York Daily News reported.
After their arraignment on murder charges Wednesday, the two were held without bail, according to the New York Daily News.
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