WESTERN PA. Police seeking homicide leads

The death was the first homicide in the city in three years.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- Police don't believe Michael H. Tymchyshyn was shot and killed where his body was found.
Tymchyshyn, 31, of 460 Grant St., Sharon, last was seen leaving his home around 10 a.m. Saturday. His body was found lying in a grassy area in an alley between the 1100 blocks of Fruit and Wallis avenues in Farrell at 11:42 a.m. that day.
He died of a gunshot wound to the right side. The bullet passed through his lungs and heart, killing him instantly, Police Chief Riley Smoot said Tuesday.
There was no evidence found at the scene to indicate Tymchyshyn was shot at that location, Smoot said. The site is close to the Sharon border, and Sharon police have joined the investigation on the theory that the shooting may actually have occurred in their city, he said.
There were people around the area where Tymchyshyn was found, and no one heard or noticed anything, Smoot said, noting that the members of the Bethlehem Baptist Church were setting up for a church picnic just a half-block away.
Seeking answers
Police are following four or five different versions of what might have happened but so far have been unable to link anyone with Tymchyshyn between the time he left home and the time his body was found, Smoot said.
Various evidence gathered in the case, such as Tymchyshyn's clothing, has been sent to a state police crime laboratory in Erie, he said.
Previous homicide
Smoot said the homicide is the first in Farrell in three years.
The last homicide victim in the city was Rasceo "Angel" Riley, 30, of Fruit Avenue, who was shot in front of his residence Oct. 5, 2001.
Police found an eyewitness in that case who identified the alleged shooter as Arthur N. Paige Jr. of Fleetwood Court, Wheatland, who was 26 at the time.
Paige was arrested on a homicide charge, but the witness changed his testimony at Paige's preliminary hearing and identified a person known only as "Shorty" from New York City as the shooter.
The case against Paige was dismissed, and no other arrest was made.
gwin@vindy.com