3 Teens Charged in Death of Pizzeria Employee Shot and Left in Freezer

Three teenagers were charged Friday with killing a 16-year-old high school soccer player at his after-school pizzeria job, shooting him in the back of the head as he was forced to kneel in the store’s freezer.

Justin Mello was shot and killed Oct. 21, and his body was discovered in the freezer by a returning deliveryman. Police said they found a spent shell casing near the body inside the freezer at Mancino’s Pizzas and Grinders.

Charged with murder were Frank M. Kuechen, 19, Jonathan Paul Kaled, 18, and Matthew Joseph Daniels, 16. Kaled and Daniels are both dropouts from Anchor Bay High School, where Mello was a student.

School Supt. Leonard Woodside, without providing details, said Kaled and Daniels had been disciplinary problems. Woodside said Daniels dropped out of school in January and Kaled left Oct. 10.

Officials described Kuechen as a relative newcomer to this town 30 miles northeast of Detroit.

The suspects also were charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and felony weapon violations. District Judge Paul Cassidy ordered the three jailed without bond.