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2 face murder charges in baseball bat beating

Two central Pennsylvania men have been indicted in the baseball-bat beating death of a Delaware man in an apparent scheme to collect his life insurance money.

Ryan Shover
Ryan ShoverRead moreU.S. Attorney's Office

Two central Pennsylvania men have been indicted in the baseball-bat beating death of a Delaware man in an apparent scheme to collect his life insurance money.

A New Castle County, Del., grand jury indicted Ryan Shover, 44, of York, Pa., and Michael Kman, 51, of Enola, Pa., on charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud and related offenses for the 2013 death of Wayne Cappelli, 43, of Claymont, Del.

Cappelli was found dead in a roadside ditch in Brandywine Hundred, Del., on Feb. 18, 2013, with severe injuries all over his body.

Investigators discovered that Cappelli had gotten a large life insurance policy three months before he died, naming a friend as his beneficiary, according to the state Department of Justice. The name of the beneficiary has not been publicly released.

Cappelli was last seen leaving the Super Fresh in Branmar Plaza, where he worked, shortly after 9 p.m. Feb. 16. Detectives believe he was bludgeoned and left for dead where his body was found two days later.

"We appreciate the hard work and cooperation of everyone involved in this case, knowing how difficult it is to bring justice to those responsible in cold cases," Attorney General Matt Denn said. The investigation, led by New Castle County Police Sgt. Tom Orzechowski and the Department of Justice, included the FBI and police departments in East Pennsboro Township, Pa., and York, Pa.

Shover is being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, Del. Kman will be extradited to Delaware after he is sentenced in an unrelated case in Pennsylvania, where he now is in custody.