Neighbor Dispute To Blame For Hempfield Double-Murder, Suicide
HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - An apparent neighbor dispute led to a double-murder, suicide in Hempfield Township on Wednesday.
According to police, gunfire erupted around 7 a.m. at the Hempfield Heights apartment complex on West Hills Drive in Hempfield Township.
Christina White, 23, and Timothy Reffner, 30, were shot and killed as they were going to do the laundry.
They were taking their laundry out of their apartment when according to state police, their downstairs neighbor, Philip Cancilla, 51, walked out and shot them multiple times in the back using two different weapons.
At that point, Cancilla retreated back into his apartment and took his own life.
Police released new details Thursday morning about the gunman's motive.
According to police, a longstanding dispute between the two parties over a number of issues, including noise, led to yesterday's shooting.
"We also found a note inside there and the note read, 'Can only be provoked so long before exploding.' In checking his background, we didn't have any misdemeanor or any other type of other arrests that were misdemeanor or above that he was associated with," Trooper Steve Limani said.
White was shot five times, while Refner was shot six times.
Equally as tragic in all of this is what Refner's older brother told the coroner. He said Tim survived 18 months in Iraq only to come home and get shot in Westmoreland County.
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