A Tidioute man charged with criminal homicide is currently under armed guard at UPMC Hamot.
Warren-based state police identified the victim as Kathleen Sweeney, 56, of Davey Hill Road, Tidioute. Coroner Jerry Borden said Friday night after the autopsy that the cause of death was "gunshots to the head" and that "the manner of death is homicide."
The suspect, Randy Lee Poole, 52, Tidioute, was arrested by police around 1 a.m. Friday following a manhunt which lasted nearly 10 hours.
State police were dispatched to the scene of the shooting just after 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon after receiving a 911 call believed to be from the victim. Warren County District Attorney Ross McKeirnan said she then called a friend and made her dying declaration, identifying Poole as the intruder and gunman.
At 7:25 p.m. Thursday, the suspected gunman was observed in a red Chevrolet pick-up truck on Tidioute-Enterprise Road and a short pursuit ensued, ending with Poole crashing the vehicle two miles west of Tidioute Borough. Police said Poole then fled on foot into the woods, initiating a search by law enforcement which lasted nearly five hours.
Poole was located at approximately 1 a.m. Friday and taken into custody. Poole was transported to Warren General Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash, then transferred to UPMC Hamot in Erie.
See Saturday's Times Observer for a complete story.