NOBLE COUNTY, Ohio -- 

Authorities said preliminary findings show a body found by authorities investigating a Craigslist killing case is a man who died from a gunshot wound to the head.

The coroner's office in Noble County issued a statement Tuesday saying it had identified the body found Friday in Stock Township as John Doe. According to The Associated Press, officials said they think the victim's name is Ralph Geiger, but they didn't explain the basis for that.

Police said they think two other deaths are linked to what they've described as a robbery scheme involving a bogus Craigslist ad for a job on a farm. The county sheriff is under a gag order and has not said whether the body discovered Friday is connected with the case.

The investigation started earlier this month, when Sheriff Stephen Hannum said a South Carolina man told police that he responded to a local job listing on Craigslist. When he came to town for the work, two men picked him up and said they were going to drive him to the project but then started shooting at him.

That investigation led officers to the body of a man buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area along a road about 10 miles outside of Caldwell. Later, a death certificate showed the victim -- 51-year-old David Pauley, of Norfolk, Va. -- died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities also confirmed the identity of a body found near an Akron mall in Summit County as 47-year-old Timothy Kern of Massillon, Ohio. Police said Kern also answered a Craigslist ad connected to Noble County. The Summit County medical examiner said Kern died from gunshot wounds to the head.

The discovery of Kern's body in a shallow grave came just before Noble County Sheriff's Office announced finding a third body in Stock Township, also in a shallow grave.

Two people are in custody, including a 16-year-old boy charged with attempted murder on Nov. 18. Additional charges filed Nov. 22 against the teen include aggravated murder and complicity to aggravated murder.

According to court documents from the Noble County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Division, the juvenile is from Stow, Ohio. On Tuesday, the prosecuting attorney motioned to consolidate the charges and continue a probable cause hearing. The matter will be continued a later date.

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