Longtime funeral director dies after being found burned and beaten
post-gazette.com
excerpt:
Pittsburgh police have charged a man with homicide in the death of a longtime funeral home operator in Allentown. Jawwaad Ali, 24, was arrested Friday in the death of John Connors, 83, in the 200 block of Allen Street. Police said Ali is believed to have been staying in Mr. Connors’ home.
City homicide detectives, arson investigators and the Allegheny County medical examiner's office responded Friday morning to the run-down home where the burned body of the elderly man was found in a second-floor bedroom.
Mr. Connors was a fixture in the neighborhood, often seen with his dog. The medical examiner's office said an autopsy would be conducted today.
Mr. Connors’ brother, James Connors, 80, of Carnegie, said he was told by police that the victim had been beaten up and had head trauma.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler did not confirm that information, but she did say that two men who were at the scene had been taken to police headquarters for questioning as “potential witnesses.” It was not known whether Ali was one of those men.
A woman who lives across the street who did not want to be identified said her sister told her that the victim, known to some in the neighborhood as “Mr. John,” was on fire.
The woman said one man at the scene said his grandfather was on fire — although Mr. Connors said his brother had no wife or children — while the other said the victim was already dead. Those were the men taken in for questioning.
Ms. Toler said a 911 call came in around 11:30 a.m. for a man on fire in the 200 block of Allen Street. She did not know who placed the call.
Firefighters found the body and paramedics pronounced the man dead at 11:38 a.m. Ms. Toler said the fire was mostly out by the time firefighters arrived.
"There was very little damage to the room that he was in in the house so this is being investigated as a suspicious death,” Ms. Toler said. “It appears that the man, as the 911 call came in, that the man was on fire. How he caught fire we do not know at this point.”
Ms. Toler said it had not been determined whether any accelerants were used to ignite the body or speed its burning.
People at the scene said Mr. Connors was known to leave his door open. His brother said there were no valuables in the house since they had been stolen long ago.
“People broke in and stole things,” James Connors said. “He would help stray people all the time and the drug people would break in.”
Ms. Toler said a dog was taken from the scene. |
