TROOPERS MAKE ARREST IN TALBOT CO. DEATH INVESTIGATION

Samuel I. Cross

(St. Michaels, MD) – A Talbot County Grand Jury today issued an indictment for a St. Michaels man who is now in police custody and is being charged in connection with the death of an Easton man whose body was found along a rural road in the county earlier this month.

The suspect is identified as Matthew Mikowski, 17, of the 9000-block of Bozman-Neavit Road, St. Michaels, Maryland. The suspect was taken into custody this afternoon by troopers from the Maryland State Police State Apprehension Team at a location in Wernersville, Pennsylvania without incident. He is currently being held at the Berks County Jail pending extradition proceedings.

Mikowski is charged as an adult on an indictment from a Talbot County Grand Jury with second degree murder, reckless endangerment, second degree assault, and four counts of distribution of LSD. The indictment was issued by the Grand Jury convened by the Talbot County State’s Attorney’s Office, after evidence was presented from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigation.

The investigation began on June 10, 2013, after troopers from the Easton Barrack responded to reports of a deceased man lying in the area of Bozman-Neavitt Road and St. Michaels Road. The deceased was later identified as Samuel I. Cross, 18, of Easton, Md. Cross’ Honda Pilot was also found nearby. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled the cause of death was asphyxiation and the manner of death was homicide.

The investigation has established Cross, Mikowski and other acquaintances were together in an area behind Mikowski’s home during the night of June 9th. Evidence developed during the investigation indicates the group may have been involved in the use of LSD. According to witnesses, Mikowski restrained Cross around the neck which resulted in his death. Investigators believe Cross’ body was later placed near his vehicle by Mikowski, where it was subsequently seen by those who called police.

Submitted:
Maryland State Police