Mr. Lynch, of Queens, and Coram resident James Wall, both 1998 graduates of Longwood High School, have been charged with second-degree murder and Mr. Lynch's live-in girlfriend, Leah Reynolds, 22, was charged with first-degree hindering prosecution for hiding the handguns her boyfriend used to commit the killings, police said.

Police said that on July 16, after Mr. Lynch discovered the cocaine he bought was fake, he and Mr. Wall forced Mr. Odierno and Mr. Santos from Coram to Mr. Lynch's apartment in Middle Village, where he tied them up with duct tape on his apartment floor and shot them. Mr. Lynch then beheaded and dismembered the two men in his bathtub, said Deputy Insp. Robert Oswald, commanding officer of the Suffolk Major Crimes Bureau, at a media briefing Friday. He then transported the body parts in a Rubbermaid container back to Coram and buried them in the sump and his parents' backyard on Summercress Lane, police said.

Suffolk prosecutor John Scott Prudenti Wednesday called Mr. Wall "an active participant" in the July 16 kidnapping. While he declined to discuss the specifics of Mr. Wall's role in the events of July 16, he did say anyone involved in a kidnapping that leads to a murder can be found guilty of murder in New York State.

Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the Suffolk homicide squad, said Tuesday that Mr. Wall was in the vehicle that transported Mr. Odierno and Mr. Santos to Mr. Lynch's apartment.

Both Mr. Lynch and Mr. Wall have criminal records. In 2005, Mr. Lynch was sentenced to 10 months in jail for hitting a woman with a garbage can, according to Department of Corrections records. He has also been arrested on drugs and weapons charges, police said. Mr. Wall has been convicted of attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon, and in January he was charged with marijuana possession.

Mr. Lynch and Mr. Wall are being held without bail. Ms. Reynolds, who police said stashed the handguns inside her family's attic in Holtsville, is being held on $500,000 bond.

Det. Lt. Fitzpatrick said no more arrests are expected in the case. "As far as the police are concerned, our role in this investigation is over," he said.

Mr. Odierno also had several run-ins with the law. He had a prior arrest for weapons possession in Westchester County, for which he completed five years of probation, according to Det. Lt. Joseph Williams. He was also previously arrested by Suffolk police for criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to online court documents. According to his attorney, John Loturco of Huntington, Mr. Odierno was due in court last week, one day before his remains were discovered.

The scene around Northridge Drive and Summercress Lane was chaotic July 31, as crime scene tape surrounded the area, police cars lined the streets and uniformed officers frequently entered and exited the two properties. Crime lab officers could be seen outside the sump with plastic bags and shovels.

"When I saw the cop cars there the other day I said, 'Oh boy,' " the neighbor we interviewed said. "It will be a long time until I don't think about it every time I'm driving down this street."

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