Ind. Man Denied Killing Mom and Called Her 'the Sweetest Person.' Then Spinal Cord Was Found in Yard By Sean Neumann 12

An Indiana man has been accused of murder after he allegedly gave police bogus interviews about his missing mother before investigators then discovered human remains in a burn pit in the backyard of the family’s home.

Indiana State Police announced in a news release on Monday, Oct. 6, that Nicholas Yates had been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a missing persons case that was first reported on Sunday.

Police have not yet identified the alleged victim, although local WTWO, WTHR, and WTHI reported that investigators believe the remains found on the family’s property belong to Yates’ mother, Cheryl Yates, who has been missing since Sunday.

Indiana State Police said in its statement this week that the local Vermillion County Coroner’s Office is working to confirm the identity of the remains found in the burn pit on the family’s property and that the name of the victim will not be released until the office confirms the body parts belong to the missing person they suspect. 

“This process may take several weeks,” Indiana State Police said.

Citing court documents, WTWO and WTHR reported that deputies with the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department were called to the Yates family’s home earlier this week after Yates reported his mother missing. At the home, Yates, 20, allegedly gave conflicting information over the course of several interviews with investigators, the court documents reportedly said.

“Upon asking Nick if he knew of anyone who would want to harm his mother, he advised ‘No, she was the sweetest person,’” investigators wrote in a probable cause affidavit, according to WTWO.

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Yates told detectives that he last saw his mother on Oct. 3, and that he had been trying to call her phone, WTWO reported, citing the affidavit. However, Yates also told police that his mother left her phone, purse and wallet at home. According to the affidavit, police became suspicious and asked Yates about why he would be calling a phone that was left at the house, and then asked to see his mother’s cellphone. Yates then reportedly told investigators he sold the phone because he needed the money, according to the affidavit.

WTHR reported that detectives found a pill organizer that indicated Yates’ mother had taken her medicine up until the night of Oct. 3. While searching the backyard, investigators allegedly found a “smoldering pile of papers” in a burn pit as well as what appeared to be human bones. The outlet reported that one Vermillion County Sheriff’s deputy wrote in the probable cause affidavit that he believed one of the potential body parts found was a human spinal cord.

Yates later confessed to getting into an argument with his mother on the night of Oct. 3, according to the affidavit, which further alleges he told investigators he “struck his mother in the throat,” causing her to fall back and hit her head on a metal bed frame. Yates then allegedly told police he put his mother’s body in a wooden box and the next morning brought it out to the backyard and burned it in the fire pit.

WTHR reported that Yates had an initial court hearing on Wednesday and is due back in court to begin a jury trial in late February.