Man likely headed to trial for taking overdosed Griffith woman’s body to Gary to burn

Emmit Yarbrough appears headed to trial Aug. 26 for allegedly taking Deborah Leslie’s overdosed body to Gary to set on fire in an abandoned building.

Yarbrough, 57, is charged with Level 4 felony arson, two counts of Level 6 felony altering the scene of a death, one count of Level 6 felony abuse of a corpse and multiple misdemeanors.

The Leslie case triggered a probation violation on his 2018 gun case. Yarbrough was sentenced to time served Thursday on the probation violation.

Records show prosecutors filed Thursday to double his bond to $5,000 cash surety in the Leslie case, with the hope of keeping him in jail. A further pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 22.

His co-defendant in Leslie’s case, Heather Richardson, died earlier this year.

Leslie, 30, of Griffith, was found Sept. 23, 2022, in a torched-out house on the 5300 block of W. 8th Avenue in Gary.

She was last seen alive on camera at a Hammond Motel 6. Yarbrough and Richardson were the last people seen with her.

Leslie’s body was later identified through dental prints. Her cause of death was a fentanyl and cocaine overdose, according to court records. Alcohol was also in her system.

She “loved hiking” and “being in nature,” according to her obituary. Music and especially dancing “made her feel childlike and free.”

Her family, including a twin sister, were close and never turned their back during her many rehab stints, her father David Leslie said previously. They supported her through Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and other support groups.

“She had all the pieces to succeed,” he said previously. “Why somebody doesn’t, I’ll never know.”

mcolias@post-trib.com