Arrests Made In 2008 Beaver Co. Double Murder
BEAVER FALLS (KDKA) - Police have arrested two men in connection with a 2008 double murder in Beaver County.
According to police, two Pittsburgh men already in prison on unrelated charges were charged in connection with the murders of Demetria and Richard Harper, both 32.
The incident happened on June 30, 2008, in Beaver Falls.
Beaver Falls Police said a relative discovered the Harpers shot execution style in the 800-block of Second Avenue.
The suspects have been identified as 35-year-old Robert Burgess, who is in a federal prison in Ohio, and 26-year-old Devon Shealey, who is in a state prison outside of Harrisburg.
Both are facing a list of charges including, homicide, trespassing and robbery.
Two of the couple's children – girls ages 10 and 8 at the time – were locked in a furnace room by the suspects.
In the criminal complaint, police say Burgess met Demetria Harper at a Pittsburgh bar and set up a drug deal.
He wanted her to buy as many as 20 pounds of marijuana in El Paso, Texas, where she once lived.
Burgess said he would "get his" after he claimed Harper stole money from him and that's why they were killed.
Police say the Harpers were tied up and placed on the basement floor while their children were found locked in a furnace room in the basement.
Shealey told police Burgess wanted to kill the two girls, but he talked him out of it.
The investigation involved federal, state and local authorities and stretched from Beaver Falls to Detroit to New Mexico and then to Texas.
Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said it's too early to say if he'll seek the death penalty in this case.
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