Body Of Missing Rebecca Kloster Found In Washington County
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The body of a missing woman has been found in Washington County.
Two men have now been charged in connection with Rebecca Kloster's disappearance. The Washington County coroner says Kloster's body was found in a wooded area off of Hahn Drive on Tuesday in Cecil Township.
Matthew Shashura and Christian Panyko are in the Washington County Jail facing multiple charges, including abuse of a corpse. They're accused of dumping her body along the side of a road.
KDKA talked to Kloster's grandmother, Barbara Clutter, before Kloster's body was found on Tuesday.
"It's just horrible. terrible. I've cried so much I can't even cry anymore," said Clutter.
State police reported Kloster, 33, missing on Friday afternoon. Investigators say Kloster's mother last spoke to her daughter on Dec. 19, 2021, and reported her missing a month later.
"When I go to sleep at night, I can't sleep. And if I do fall asleep, as soon as I wake up I think about her," said Clutter.
Investigators say they were tipped off to the Rodeway Inn in Washington County. Authorities determined Kloster had been staying there after talking with managers and spotting her on motel surveillance video with Shashura, a man Clutter said she met previously.
"He came here one day and sat right over there on that love seat. He talked to me and seemed like a really nice guy," said Clutter.
After digging through more footage, troopers saw Shashura and another man, later identified as Panyko, carrying what looked to be an unresponsive person out of the motel and placing the body in the back of a vehicle.
Panyko told investigators that Kloster became unresponsive when the three of them were using narcotics at the motel. He admitted the pair drove Kloster's body to an unknown location in Washington County and dumped it along a road.
However, Shashura denies Kloster was ever at the motel with them.
"Why didn't he call 911?" said Clutter. "I hope they rot in jail."
Clutter said she wants her granddaughter to be remembered as a lovable and caring person.
Meantime, the coroner will be conducting an autopsy to rule the cause and manner of death.