MERCER COUNTY Husband faces multiple charges in Jan. beating death of his wife

By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- It was the many conflicting accounts Scott Dunn gave to investigators and others that ultimately led to his arrest, officials say.
The 27-year-old Slippery Rock man is accused of beating his wife, Brandon Dunn, 22, and then burning down her parents' East Washington Boulevard home with her inside Jan. 14.
Authorities announced his arrest at a press conference Monday at the Grove City borough building.
Scott Dunn is being held in Mercer County Jail without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 17 before District Justice Larry Silvis in Jackson Center.
Mercer County District Attorney James Epstein said at a press conference Monday that investigators found no evidence of an intruder. He declined to detail a motive.
Pennsylvania State Police have charged Dunn with criminal homicide, arson and abuse of a corpse.
Found dead
The victim, who was known as Brandi, was found dead inside the burning home, several feet from the front door, with a gas can near her head. An autopsy revealed that she died of blunt force trauma. Court papers stated that she died before the fire started.
According to an affidavit filed to support the charges, her husband of less than a year gave several conflicting accounts to police, neighbors and others.
Police said the couple had been living in a trailer in Slippery Rock and were house-sitting for Brandi Dunn's parents, John and Deborah Montgomery. The Montgomerys were in California.
Dunn told police that he picked his wife up at a friend's house early that morning and dropped his wife off at her parents' home. He headed back to their Slippery Rock home to get his wallet, but had to return when his truck broke down.
Says he chased man
Police said the suspect told them he saw a white man with blond hair beating his wife and he chased the man toward some nearby railroad tracks. He contends that the fire began after he started chasing the man.
Police said the ground was muddy and there were no footprints in the direction Dunn contends the man ran.
Police said Dunn told neighbors William and Cheryl Caldwell that after chasing the man he returned to the house, where he picked up his wife, but was knocked over by an explosion. He then crawled out of the front door.
According to court papers, the door was locked.
Police also said they checked Dunn's truck and found no mechanical problems.
State police said Dunn also changed clothes from the time of the fire and a Jan. 14 interview with police, but contends he had been wearing the same clothes. Dunn also told police he had been at a friend's home until 2:30 a.m. the day of the fire, but the friend said Dunn left at 1:30 a.m.
Police said fire marshals determined the blaze was intentionally set and was not electrical in nature.
Knowledge of accelerant
Court papers stated Dunn also told a friend, Jason McConnell of Slippery Rock, two days after the blaze that Dunn was going to be blamed for his wife's death and accelerant was used in three different places.
Police said they didn't determine that an accelerant was used in three different places in the house until several days later. The gas can found near Brandi Dunn's body was identified by her father as one he kept in an outside shed.
cioffi@vindy.com