Police searching for Pittsburgh-area man accused of killing woman, injuring husband resulting in Lawrence County crash
ELLPORT, Pa. (KDKA) - State police in New Castle are searching for a man accused of shooting and killing an Erie, Pa. woman and injuring her husband last month.
Pennsylvania State Police have changed Yohance Mercer-Huffman, 28, in connection to a shooting along River Road near Ellport outside of Ellwood City on Sept. 30.
RELATED: Pa. State Police investigating Pittsburgh-area homicide
Troopers were called to the area around 3:30 a.m. for a report of a vehicle that had crashed over an embankment.
When troopers arrived, they found Julie Anne Wegmiller, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead. Her husband, Edwin Fran Wegmiller Jr., also was injured. He was found with gunshot wounds and transported to a UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition.
State police homicide detectives shut the area near River Road for hours as they collected clues.
Edwin Wegmiller remains in serious but stable condition.
Investigators conducted interviews during a neighborhood canvass and learned of a gathering and a fight among a group of people in front of a residence along Wilson Avenue in the morning of Sept. 30., the criminal complaint added.
Edwin Wegmiller said in an interview with police that he had given a man with dreadlocks a ride to the area, and the male shot him. During the autopsy of Julie Anne Wegmiller, a black dreadlock of hair was collected from her hand.
After receiving a search warrant to search the Wegmillers' truck, troopers found "a large amount of blood" in the front and back seats, as well as "several empty cartridge cases," according to the complaint.
Wegmiller said at the hospital that he and his wife had driven from Corry, Pa. to Ellwood City on Sept. 29, and they met a man with black dreadlocks and a woman who was with him, and they went to multiple Lawrence County bars. Wegmiller stayed in the truck while the man went inside the bar, and then they went to a residence.
Wegmiller said he had a strange feeling about the situation and told his wife to leave. As the Wegmillers began to leave, the man with dreadlocks jumped into the back passenger seat, took out a gun, and shot him multiple times.
He said the man shot his wife once, instantly killing her. Wegmiller said after his wife was shot, the truck crashed, and he fell out into a ravine, where he remained until EMS personnel were able to find him.
A witness at the house on Wilson Avenue said in an interview with police that they noticed an unfamiliar truck outside the residence, with descriptions of Julie and Edwin Wegmiller matching those of the people sitting in the front seats.
The witness said the Wegmillers and Mercer-Huffman were the only ones in the truck at the time of the shooting. A loud noise was heard a short time later, and then Mercer-Huffman walked back to the house, saying the couple had wrecked their truck. The witness told police that Mercer-Huffman had a pistol in his hand and noticed a bleeding wound on his arm.
Mercer-Huffman is facing a list of charges, including criminal homicide and criminal attempted homicide.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Pennsylvania State Police in New Castle at 724-598-2211.
