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Tiffany Pohlson, 17, of Vulcan, Mich., and Anthony Spigarelli, 18, of Iron Mountain, Mich., were each shot once and died instantly, Marinette County Coroner George Smith said.
He did not know what type of gun was used or how far the shooter was from the teens.
“They had been swimming, but they were on land when they were shot,” Smith said. “Their bodies were found real close to each other.”
Autopsies for Pohlson and Spigarelli are being done in Wisconsin because their bodies were found on the Wisconsin side of the Menominee River.
The third victim, Bryan Mort, 19, of Iron Mountain, was found about 80 yards away on the Michigan riverbank, Smith said.
The hospital pathologist overseeing Mort’s autopsy in Michigan did not immediately return a message left Monday.
Smith said he is still waiting for the full report from the pathologist handling Pohlson and Spigarelli’s autopsies. He expects that to take at least a week, and toxicology reports will probably take a week or two.
Scott J. Johnson, 38, of Kingsford, Mich., remained jailed in Marinette County on Monday. He was arrested Friday after a 16-hour manhunt.
Marinette County District Attorney Brent DeBord said he wasn’t sure when charges would be filed in the deaths because he still had multiple investigative reports to review.
Johnson also could face sexual assault charges in Dickinson County, Mich. A 24-year-old woman told police last week that Johnson assaulted her Wednesday at the site where the shooting occurred Thursday.
Dickinson County District Attorney Christopher Ninomiya did not immediately return a message left Monday. Authorities have said they don’t know whether Johnson has an attorney yet. A message left with the state Public Defenders office in Marinette County was not immediately returned.
Funerals for Pohlson and Spigarelli will be held today. Pohlson’s will be in Norway, Mich., and Spigarelli’s will be in Iron Mountain.
Mort’s funeral is set for Thursday in Iron Mountain.
The three teens were shot in a remote area popular for swimming and diving off the East Kingsford Bridge. A fourth shooting victim, 20-year-old Daniel Louis Gordon, survived.
Some teens have said Johnson went to the river frequently and sometimes chatted with the young people gathered there.
Police say Johnson went to the bridge about three miles from his home Thursday and hid in the bushes before coming out and opening fire. They haven’t commented on a possible motive.
But Johnson’s mother, Judy Johnson, said he quickly left the house after learning police had stopped by, presumably to talk to him about the sexual assault allegations.
Johnson served five years in the Army and was honorably discharged in 1994, his mother said. She described him as despondent since his wife left in 2001 and moved to Ohio with their two children.
