4 homicides logged in Westmoreland County in 2024, but more cases pending

There were four confirmed homicide deaths in Westmoreland County in 2024, but that figure could rise as officials are awaiting rulings in a few more cases.

Coroner Tim Carson said the four cases involve:

• Diana Rebold, 73, of New Kensington. Her son Brian Rebold, 38, has been deemed competent to stand trial on homicide charges in her Aug. 4 death.

• Theresa Day, 51, of Manor. Investigators said she was killed in a murder-suicide Dec. 22. Her husband, Jeffrey Day, 62, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

• Allen Lamont Austin Jr., 29, of Pittsburgh. Authorities said he was one of three people who broke into an Arnold home Jan. 12 just before he was fatally shot by the homeowner. Homicide charges will not be filed in that case, according to Melanie Jones, spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.

• Randy D. Cable Jr., 46, of East Huntingdon. Cable’s May 18 death was ruled a homicide as a result of complications of remote blunt force trauma of the head and neck related to an assault on April 25, 1997, in Jeannette that left him a quadriplegic, according to Carson. Court papers indicate Cable was punched during a party at the home of a friend and he was found lying unconscious on the sidewalk, according to Tribune-Review archives. A Murrysville man was prosecuted on aggravated assault and simple assault charges.

Jones said the case is under review.

Meanwhile, the cause and manner of five other deaths in 2024 are still being investigated, although homicide charges already have been filed in connection with two of them. Carson said such rulings can take months while all the investigating agencies complete their work.

“Sometimes it takes time for a lot of that stuff to come back from the labs, and our stuff that we send out as well,” he said. “I know that everyone just wants to do their due diligence.”

The cases still under investigation are:

• Amy R. Shipley, 45, of Ligonier Borough. Her remains were unearthed in Cook Township Sept. 17 after she was last seen Sept. 8. The man authorities expected to arrest in connection with her disappearance — Roger A. Angelo Jr., 47 — was found dead in their home from self-inflicted knife wounds.

• David Risher, 58, of New Kensington. Police arrested his former roommate Nico Harris, 40, in connection with the slaying. Risher’s body was found July 5. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16.

• Hunter Meyers, 10, of Donegal Township. Police said Meyers was stabbed in the head multiple times Aug. 1. They arrested James C. Campbell, 14, in connection with the death. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 24.

• Jimmy L. Southern, 80, of Crabtree. He was found dead in his bed April 5 at 12:45 p.m. from a gunshot wound, Carson said. His wife, Marie Southern, 62, was found outside the Kennedy Street house suffering from a gunshot wound and was taken to a hospital for treatment. She died Sept. 4 at an Irwin nursing home. State police have been investigating.

Since 2006, there have been four homicides in Westmoreland County in two other years — 2015 and 2023, according to coroner statistics. The highest total was 10 in 2014, according to coroner statistics.