Article published November 10, 2009
Phone call disclosed death of Michigan teen
Relative: Voices argued about body
By MARK REITER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
CARLETON, Mich. - Joshua Miracle, a 16-year-old honor student, assured his grandfather that he would return before 10 p.m.
When his grandson didn't return home Friday night, John Alley grew worried. He repeatedly called the teenager's cell phone.
About 8 a.m. Saturday, Mr. Alley said he finally got through on his grandson's cell phone to hear frantic voices on the other end yelling at each other.
From the conversation between two male voices, Mr. Alley said, he learned that his grandson was dead.
He said they talked about a drug overdose and dumping Joshua's body because they could be in trouble.
"It went something to the effect: 'We have got to get rid of the body or they will charge us with murder,'•" Mr. Alley recalled.Monroe County sheriff's deputies responding to a call about suspicious activity found Joshua about 8:40 a.m. Saturday on a bench in Ash Park in Carleton in northern Monroe County.
A woman walking through the park called police after she saw two people remove the body from a sports car and drive off, according to police reports.
She told investigators that the two appeared nervous and kept telling each other to hurry up, the report said.
Frank Bolinsky, 19, and Justin Mell, 17, who were in a Ford Mustang that matched the woman's description, were stopped about a mile outside town on Carleton-Rockwood Road and were arrested a short time later.
According to the police reports, the two teenagers confessed to dumping Joshua's body in the park after finding the teenager dead in Mr. Bolinsky's car about 8 a.m.
Mr. Bolinsky of Lincoln Park, Mich., and young Mell of Carle-
ton are each charged with one count of moving a body without a medical examiner's permission.
The teenagers were arraigned yesterday in Monroe County District Court on the misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Mr. Bolinsky was released over the weekend from the county jail after posting a $1,000 surety bond. Judge Mark Braunlich yesterday allowed for Mr. Mell's release from the facility on a recognizance bond. They are scheduled to return to court Nov. 25 for a pretrial hearing.
Mr. Alley said his grandson moved in with him about three months ago. He said Joshua, an "A" student at Downriver High School in Rockwood, was a typical teenager. "During the time he has been living with me, he has been a perfect gentleman," his grandfather said.
Mr. Alley said Joshua and Mr. Bolinsky left his home about
4 p.m. to watch a movie in Southgate, Mich.
It was the first time that Joshua had not returned home, his grandfather said.
"I got concerned when he didn't get home Friday night," Mr. Alley said. "I couldn't get [an] answer on his cell phone."
According to the sheriff's report, Mr. Bolinsky and Mr. Mell told investigators they drove to Southgate, where Joshua bought morphine pills, and that he later obtained Xanax and methadone pills there.
They told police that after taking the drugs and driving around the Downriver area, they went to Mr. Mell's home in Carleton, where they left Joshua inside the car about 1 a.m., the report said.
Mr. Bolinsky and Mr. Mell said they found Joshua dead in the car about 8 a.m.
After the cell phone call, Mr. Alley said he went driving around Carleton in search of his grandson, and stopped in the park after he saw police vehicles parked there.
He said deputies told him his grandson had been found in the park.
"It was horrible, " he said.
An investigator at the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, where Joshua's body was taken for an autopsy, said last night the cause of death has not been determined pending toxicology results.
Jack Simms, an assistant county prosecutor, said Mr. Bolinsky and Mr. Mell will not face additional charges in Monroe County. However, he said Wayne County authorities could pursue charges.
"We have no other information that would indicate any other crimes were committed in Monroe County," Mr. Simms said.
Contact Mark Reiter at:
markreiter@theblade.com
or 419-724-6199.
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