Joshua Rose (pictured left) was only 21 years old when he tragically died on August 25th, 2016. He spent that day at a friend’s home in Scranton, Pennsylvania with then-19-year-old Preston Layfield, (pictured top right) and his ex-girlfriend, then-20-year-old Amanda Wayda. (pictured center right). The group of friends were all using heroin while inside the home.
At some point, Joshua lost consciousness and Preston and Amanda feared he had overdosed. Amanda then called then-22-year-old Tyler Mirabelli (pictured bottom right) and asked him to drive them to the hospital. Tyler agreed, and he helped Preston and Amanda place Joshua inside his car.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The group drove straight past a hospital and continued to drive north down interstate I-81. At some point during the drive, the trio placed a plastic bag over Joshua’s head while Preston strangled him with a jumper cable.
Once they were sure that Joshua had died, they put a hat and a pair of sunglasses on him to make it appear that he was still alive. They then stopped to buy gas at a nearby gas station before dumping Joshua’s body over an embankment in Susquehanna County. To this day, it is still unclear why the group did not take Joshua to the hospital as originally planned.
Preston, Amanda and Tyler all pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in early 2017. The attorneys working this case stated that all three of them were involved in Joshua’s killing, but they all played a different role. As a result, their sentences were different.
Preston, the one who actually strangled Joshua, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years. Amanda, who witnessed the event and did not try to help the victim, was sentenced to 15 to 40 years. Tyler, the driver of the car, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years.
Still, Deputy District Attorney Mariclare Hayes stated that the State does not necessarily think any of them should be blamed more than the other. At the sentencing, she stated: “When we look at all three of the individuals, I think it’s difficult to say which one was the most culpable, but Joshua Rose did not have to die. This was a senseless act and any of them could have done something different.”
I was Preston’s ex girlfriend 3 weeks before this I dumped him. I tried to help him with his drug addiction but you can’t help somebody that doesn’t want help. He was always in rage. One time at the goodfellas pizza in scranton he slashed my tires and his dad came and paid me for a new one. His dad always turned a blind eye.
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