New Castle police continue search for suspect in triple killing

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

City police worked “around the clock” today to identify the suspect in a triple homicide, but had yet to make any arrests as of tonight.

Ten-year-old Amariah Emery, her 31-year-old mother Nichole Pumphrey and 31-year-old Lawrence Cannon were shot dead just before 9 a.m. Tuesday at Pumphrey’s 819 W. North St. home. A family member found them on the first floor of the home.

“We’re working hard around the clock,” city police Chief Robert Salem said during a Wednesday media briefing at the police station, adding the death of 10-year-old Emery has taken an emotional toll on the community.

“The officers here working had a hard time at the scene,” he said.

Four other children aged 9 years or younger - most of whom were also Pumphrey’s children - were also in the home at the time of the shooting and were unharmed, Salem said.

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.