STEUBENVILLE – Michael Shane, 49, of Grant Street, Toronto, and Summer R. Malyshev, 38, of County Road 42, Toronto, were charged Wednesday with gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the murder of Stephanie Pytash, who disappeared at the beginning of February.

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said Wednesday that Pytash was murdered in a house off County Road 42, Toronto, and then her body was burned in a fire pit outside.

Bone fragments believed to be from Pytash were discovered on Tuesday in the fire pit, one day after what would have been Pytash’s 36th birthday. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting DNA analysis to confirm the bone fragments were from Pytash, but Abdalla and Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said they are both convinced it is Pytash.

Abdalla said Pytash was released from the county jail on Jan. 26. She was reported missing by her mother, Susan, a couple of weeks later. The sheriff said he believes Pytash was strangled.

Prosecutor Jane Hanlin confirmed Thursday that Shane and Malyshev also will be charged with murder and complicity to murder.

“We are in the very early stages,” Hanlin said. “This is so fluid, and activities (in the investigation) are happening now.”

The sheriff said it has been a “long and tedious” investigation into Pytash’s disappearance. When Susan Pytash reported her missing, Abdalla assigned Capt. Susan Bell and Sgt. Terry Grindle to investigate. A food stamp card belonging to Pytash was being used, and Bell and Grindle were able to track down the people who were using the card.

Jason Hanlin and Tom Ellis of the county drug task force also began talking to people on the street about what they heard about Pytash’s disappearance. The FBI and Toronto Police participated in the investigation.

Abdalla said Susan Pytash was upset at times the investigation was not moving fast enough. The sheriff said the mother also helped by providing information she heard.

“We weren’t going to quit the investigation and give up,” Abdalla said.

Abdalla said the owner of the house on County Road 42, Toronto, is an over-the-road trucker who is gone for days at a time. The sheriff said the homeowner wasn’t aware of what happened at his house. Malyshev was living at the home, according to jail records.

Toronto Police and the drug task force set up surveillance on Malyshev and brought her to the sheriff’s department for questioning. She was released after questioning but charged and booked into the jail on Wednesday.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Shane.

Jane Hanlin said the investigation showed Pytash and Shane stayed at the house on County Road 42 at times.

Pytash and Shane had a relationship, and Abdalla said Pytash lived for a period at Shane’s house in Toronto.

Abdalla said he knew Pytash since she was a little girl.

“She was a good person. She was a daughter, sister and mother. She was a young girl who got caught up in a rough world and made some wrong decisions,” Abdalla said. “If there is a good thing, the family has peace of mind and can finally put her to rest.”

Pytash had a lengthy misdemeanor record in Steubenville Municipal Court and Toronto county court.

Abdalla said it was prostitutes in Steubenville who provided information about Pytash’s disappearance, which occurred between Jan. 26 and Feb. 5.

“A lot of the girls knew Stephanie,” the sheriff said.

Abdalla urged anyone with information about Pytash’s disappearance and murder is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 740- 283-8600.

“It is so important,” he said.