VERMILLION COUNTY, IN - A 20-year-old man is accused of killing his own mother, allegedly beating her to death before stuffing her into a wooden box and setting the body on fire in a backyard "burn pit."
The alleged suspect, Nicholas Thomas Yates, was arrested over the weekend of October 4th, and has been charged with one count of murder in connection with his mom's suspected death, according to Law & Crime. A news release from the Indiana State Police (ISP), Yates, on Sunday, contacted the Vermillion County Sheriff's Office and reported his mother missing.
He told police that his mother had not returned home in several days and that he had been unable to get in touch with her. Yates said his mother lived at a residence in the 300 block of Davis Street, which is about 80 miles west of Indianapolis.
The sheriff's office then reached out to the state police's Putnamville Post to help with the investigation. During the course of the investigation, detectives "uncovered criminal activity, determining that the missing person had been murdered." That evidence is what led to the arrest of Yates.
"Yates was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Vermillion County Jail," ISP wrote in the release. "Currently, the name of the deceased is not being released until a positive identification is made by the Vermillion County Coroner's Office. This process may take several weeks."
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Terre Haute NBC affiliate WTWO provided additional details about what led investigators to hone in Yates as the murder suspect.
According to the affidavit, when Yates first spoke to investigators after reporting his mother missing, he immediately raised suspicions by insinuating that his mother was no longer around. "Upon asking Nick [Yates] if he knew of anyone who would want to harm his mother, he advised 'No, she was the sweetest person,'" police wrote.
Yates also reportedly told police that his mother's clothes, identification, and banking cards were also missing, but claimed her phone, purse, and wallet had been left behind. However, despite claiming her phone had been left at the home, Yates allegedly stated that he had been repeatedly calling his mother's phone for days.
The mother's boss told investigators that before the victim left work on October 3, she was frustrated with her son for wasting his own money while she paid his bills, reportedly saying she was going to "kill him," referring to her son.
While Yates claimed he did not know where his mother was, investigators also noted that when they responded to the home, they found two individuals who had already moved into the mother's bedroom. They were reportedly unable to corroborate multiple aspects of Yates' story regarding the previous few days.
They did, however, state that they saw him cleaning a great deal and spending money at several restaurants and stores. Yates claimed that he had the two move into the home because he was afraid to be alone in the residence, according to investigators. The incriminating evidence came to light when police searched the backyard of the property.
"We proceeded to the backyard, where we discovered bones within the burn pit," police wrote in the affidavit. "The shape and appearance of the bones would lead one to believe that they perhaps were human bones. Particularly indicative of a human bone was one bone which appeared to be that of a human spinal cord."
After being confronted with the evidence of the remains, Yates allegedly confessed to killing his mother on October 3, when the two were arguing about him moving out of the house.
He allegedly struck his mom in the throat, which caused her to turn blue and fall. Yates said his mother hit her head on a metal bed frame and wooden chest when she fell backward. He then allegedly admitted to putting the body in a wooden box and spending most of October 4 burning her body in the outdoor fire pit.
During his initial hearing, Yates pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial conference on January 7, 2026.
The alleged suspect, Nicholas Thomas Yates, was arrested over the weekend of October 4th, and has been charged with one count of murder in connection with his mom's suspected death, according to Law & Crime. A news release from the Indiana State Police (ISP), Yates, on Sunday, contacted the Vermillion County Sheriff's Office and reported his mother missing.
He told police that his mother had not returned home in several days and that he had been unable to get in touch with her. Yates said his mother lived at a residence in the 300 block of Davis Street, which is about 80 miles west of Indianapolis.
The sheriff's office then reached out to the state police's Putnamville Post to help with the investigation. During the course of the investigation, detectives "uncovered criminal activity, determining that the missing person had been murdered." That evidence is what led to the arrest of Yates.
"Yates was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Vermillion County Jail," ISP wrote in the release. "Currently, the name of the deceased is not being released until a positive identification is made by the Vermillion County Coroner's Office. This process may take several weeks."
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Terre Haute NBC affiliate WTWO provided additional details about what led investigators to hone in Yates as the murder suspect.
According to the affidavit, when Yates first spoke to investigators after reporting his mother missing, he immediately raised suspicions by insinuating that his mother was no longer around. "Upon asking Nick [Yates] if he knew of anyone who would want to harm his mother, he advised 'No, she was the sweetest person,'" police wrote.
Yates also reportedly told police that his mother's clothes, identification, and banking cards were also missing, but claimed her phone, purse, and wallet had been left behind. However, despite claiming her phone had been left at the home, Yates allegedly stated that he had been repeatedly calling his mother's phone for days.
The mother's boss told investigators that before the victim left work on October 3, she was frustrated with her son for wasting his own money while she paid his bills, reportedly saying she was going to "kill him," referring to her son.
While Yates claimed he did not know where his mother was, investigators also noted that when they responded to the home, they found two individuals who had already moved into the mother's bedroom. They were reportedly unable to corroborate multiple aspects of Yates' story regarding the previous few days.
They did, however, state that they saw him cleaning a great deal and spending money at several restaurants and stores. Yates claimed that he had the two move into the home because he was afraid to be alone in the residence, according to investigators. The incriminating evidence came to light when police searched the backyard of the property.
"We proceeded to the backyard, where we discovered bones within the burn pit," police wrote in the affidavit. "The shape and appearance of the bones would lead one to believe that they perhaps were human bones. Particularly indicative of a human bone was one bone which appeared to be that of a human spinal cord."
After being confronted with the evidence of the remains, Yates allegedly confessed to killing his mother on October 3, when the two were arguing about him moving out of the house.
He allegedly struck his mom in the throat, which caused her to turn blue and fall. Yates said his mother hit her head on a metal bed frame and wooden chest when she fell backward. He then allegedly admitted to putting the body in a wooden box and spending most of October 4 burning her body in the outdoor fire pit.
During his initial hearing, Yates pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial conference on January 7, 2026.
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Comments
2025-10-11T19:04-0400 | Comment by: Sher
Soulless subhuman.