3 shot to death in New Castle

Staff report

new castle, Pa.

Three people were shot to death at a South Side home, Police Chief Tom Sansone said Friday.

Sansone said a 40-year-old woman, her 12-year-old son and another woman believed to be her mother, age unknown, were each shot once in the head.

Sansone would not name the victims, and he would not give the specific address of the house where they were found. However, Vindicator news partner 21 WFMJ TV said the address was on South Mercer Street. He said police made the discovery around 12:30 p.m. Friday, and next-of-kin had not yet been notified.

The coroner’s office took the bodies at 2:30 p.m., and an autopsy was scheduled for today, he said.

Sansone said it appeared that the victims had been dead for several days.

The younger woman was found on the living room stairs, Sansone said. The older woman and the boy were found in upstairs bedrooms.

“At this point, it doesn’t look like there is forced entry to the house,” Sansone said.

The victims all were shot at close range. Police found a handgun in the house that likely is the weapon used, though police still aren’t positive about that, Sansone said.

Sansone said police got a call from a neighbor who asked them to check on the family.

One of the family’s cats had come over to the neighbor’s to get food, which was unusual, he said.

He said no one else reported hearing anything or seeing anyone out of the ordinary in the past several days.