Found bodies identified Tattoos and dental records aided the efforts

Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans has identified the two badly decomposed bodies found in a Grafton truck repair shop as the operator of that establishment and his girlfriend.

Nicholas Friedl, 30, of Grafton was identified by his tattoos, while Jessica Poling, 28, also of Grafton, was identified using dental records, according to Evans.

The bodies and a gun were found Oct. 16 by police in a truck repair shop at 800 Barchard St. They were called to the scene by two concerned citizens, according to a news release from the Grafton Police Department.

Donald E. Longwell Jr., a managing member of 800 Barchard Street LLC which owns the property, said that Friedl and Poling were behind in their rent payments for the building.

“He was way behind,” he said. “He was telling me he had issues with not being paid for

work and such. So, I was trying to work with him and he was doing some work for me.”

Longwell was called to the property by the police Oct. 16 to open the business. He said that the building had a bad smell.

“The smell was bad

enough that I wasn’t going inside that building,” he said.

According to Evans, the bodies were found lying on a mattress in the building and had been there for more than two weeks.

“They were lying on a mattress,” he said. “They lived in that business.

There’s a room that had a mattress and some living arrangements.”

Evans said that the cause of death is still under investigation by the Ohio Attorney General Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

Grafton police did not immediately return a phone call to comment.