DA: 3 men charged with murder of Michael Petrino as authorities continue search for body | Reading Area

READING, Pa. – Three men are facing murder charges following the disappearance and subsequent kidnapping of a Lebanon County man who was last seen on March 25 of this year, said Berks County District Attorney John Adams.

Michael Petrino Jr., 23, went missing from northeast Reading in March. Police say he was last seen on surveillance footage at 1:30 a.m. being beaten up and put into a trunk of a car.

Petrino’s body has not been found, but officials say they have probable cause that he is dead.

“While we have not recovered the body, our evidence that we have been able to find has indicated that he is not with us any longer,” Adams said.

According to police, six people have been arrested in connection with his kidnapping, including 19-year-old Jazmiere Brockington, 21-year-old Gerson Caicedo, 20-year-old Kahlil Nein, two unnamed 16-year-olds, and one unnamed 17-year-old.

Those six suspects have been in custody since June of this year, police said.

“We have probable cause that these three individuals were involved in the kidnapping, assault, and homicide murder of Michael Petrino Jr.,” Adams said.

According to the DA, the three named suspects — Brockington, Caicedo and Nein — have recently been charged with second- and third-degree murder, along with the previous kidnapping, imprisonment and assault charges.

“This, of course, has been an ongoing investigation, and we have six individuals charged to date with kidnapping, as they were involved with the assault and kidnapping of Michael Petrino. We now have charged three of those individuals with second-degree murder,” Adams said.

Along with Petrino’s body not having been found, there is no bank information or social media trail around his disappearance, Adams said.

“We’re actively continuing to look for a body. We firmly believe he is deceased based upon the evidence we have gathered to date and based upon the fact that he has not been seen, not been heard,” the DA said. “There’s no activity on any devices; there’s no bank activity.”

“The fact that we don’t have a body. This is probably going to be the first case that I’m aware of in our county that we have charged individuals with homicide without a body,” Adams said.

The three men are being held without bail.

Authorities say the FBI and other agencies are assisting in the continued search for Petrino’s body.

“This family is suffering,” Adams said. “They have a son that can’t be found, and they need closure.