Second man arrested for series of drug-and-torture deaths

A Chicago man was arrested in connection with the disappearance of two men who police believe were drugged, raped, and killed, the U.S. Attorney's office said Friday. Scott Paul Schweickert, 39, of Chicago, was arrested on charges of being an accessory after the fact related to a drug-facilitated crime of violence. Schweickert waived his detention hearing and remained in custody. He faces 10 years in prison, if convicted. In February, Steven Lorenzo, 46, of the Tampa, Fla., suburb of Seminole Heights, was charged with seven counts of drug-facilitated crimes of violence, the attorney's office said. Lorenzo was indicted in November on federal drug charges. According to the Hillsborough County [Fla.] Jail, where both men are in custody, neither Schweickert or Lorenzo has an attorney. A man who answered the phone at Lorenzo's house declined to comment and didn't identify himself. Six men reported taking drinks from Lorenzo, then waking hours later, naked and injured, according to the indictment. A seventh man was later added to the case. Schweickert and Lorenzo are accused of luring two Tampa men to their deaths by drugging them, sexually torturing, raping, and then killing them, authorities said. One of those victims, Jason Galehouse, was killed and dismembered on December 19, 2003, after he allegedly engaged in sex with Schweickert and Lorenzo. The indictment charges that Lorenzo held Galehouse in a "sleeper hold" until he became unconscious. Lorenzo and Schweickert are accused of drugging, raping, and killing Michael Wachholtz the following night, then wrapping his body in a bedsheet and left it in his Jeep, officials said. The vehicle was discovered January 6, 2004. After his arrest Lorenzo admitted that he was involved in gay relationships in Tampa, adding that he had sex with only willing partners. He said any Internet exchanges, now seized by authorities, that he had with Schweickert were fantasy, according to authorities. Lorenzo is jailed without bond and awaiting his trial in October. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison on each count. Schweickert has allegedly admitted his involvement in the deaths and has identified where Galehouse's body parts were discarded, according to an affidavit. (AP)