John Tym allegedly fled the scene of a high-speed crash in Schuylkill County on Aug. 22, but police didn't catch up to him until last week, when he was taken into custody as a "person of interest" in the death of his live-in girlfriend.
Tym, 29, of 740 Chestnut St., Kulpmont, was arraigned at 7:15 p.m. Thursday by on-call Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker of Shenandoah on various charges, including fleeing or attempting to elude police.
Earlier that day, he was questioned about what police have labeled the suspicious death of Kortni Ann Kenentiz, 22, whose body was found in the backseat of her car along Route 61 outside her home about 8:20 that morning.
Tym was committed to Schuylkill County Prison in Pottsville in lieu of $25,000 cash bail on the charges relating to the accident in Mahanoy Township, in which his vehicle burst into flames. He remained in prison Monday.
"He was spotted a few times since the accident and we were confident that we or one of the neighboring police departments would eventually find him," Mahanoy Township Officer-In-Charge Brandon Alexander said Monday afternoon.
Alexander, who filed the charges against Tym, said the defendant wasn't considered a fugitive since the accident, but was wanted on the charges.
Fled police in car, on foot
Police said the chase began just west of Mahanoy City and reached speeds in excess of 100 mph before it ended just east of Girardville when the fleeing vehicle "bottomed out" and caught fire. Tym fled after the car became disabled, police said.
A passenger, Joshua D. Stevens, 28, of Mahanoy City, was taken into custody at the scene. He was charged with possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance and misdemeanor offenses of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Search warrants issued in Kenenitz's suspicious death investigation revealed the Kulpmont woman and Tym consumed drugs and alcohol while partying at a home in Mount Carmel, and later also partied at a Girardville residence, before returning to Kulpmont Thursday morning.
Tym, who previously resided in Shenandoah and Mahanoy City, told authorities he "blacked out" after leaving the Mount Carmel residence and had no recollection of what happened after they left Girardville. He didn't recall how he and Kenenitz got home, according to information contained in the warrants.
The cause and manner of Kenenitz's death, meanwhile, have not yet been determined, but there were "no signs of trauma" to her body, Northumberland County Coroner James F. Kelley reported Friday.
While an autopsy was conducted Friday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Kelley said the cause and manner of death are pending investigation. The coroner said he is awaiting toxicology test results.
As for the charges related to the crash, Tym is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, before Kilker. In addition to fleeing, he is charged with recklessly endangering another person, driving while under DUI suspension, reckless driving, driving at an unsafe speed, following too closely and passing in a "no passing" zone.