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Man Charged With Disposing Of Body Now Charged In Slaying

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EASTON, Pa. (AP) - A man originally charged with helping dispose of a body in a drug-fueled killing in Pennsylvania has now been charged in the slaying.

A Northampton County judge ruled Friday there was enough evidence for 33-year-old Charles Yocum Jr. to stand trial on charges of homicide and conspiracy in the death of 28-year-old Joseph Goda, whose body was found in the trunk of a car.

Police say Goda was bludgeoned with a shotgun in Bethlehem in September 2016 after he, Yocum and 31-year-old James Heimbach used flakka, a synthetic drug similar to bath salts.

Prosecutors said a jailhouse informant came forward and said Yocum had implicated himself. Defense attorney Gavin Holihan suggested that the informant was trying to help Heimbach, whose attorney has also suggested that Yocum was the real killer.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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