Story by Curtis Walsh with contributions by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 2, 2024 3:00 P.M.
Photo of Liz Repic & her children courtesy of Joel Repic

(New Brighton, Pa) A woman was found deceased on April 12th at an apartment complex in New Brighton. Sources say an anonymous caller tipped off police that a body was at Brightwood Manor Apartments. A body, identified as Liz Repic, was discovered in a basement storage unit of Building 2020 during a search. Beaver County Coroner David J. Gabauer reported Thursday that her death is still under investigation.

New Brighton Police Chief Ron Walton reported Thursday that an arrest was made in connection with the death, relaying that James Livingston of Aliquippa was arrested in connection with Repic’s death and PA State Police are handling the case. Livingston was charged with abuse of a corpse. Sources say he put her body in the basement.

Beaver County Radio spoke to those that were close to Liz, who say they suspect foul play was involved. They were open that Liz had struggles with substance abuse and had served jail time. One of Liz’s friends is the legal guardian of her two children. The last known whereabouts of Liz was when she attended one of her sons soccer games on April 6 before taking her kids to Wal-Mart and dropping the kids back off later that night. After not hearing from her in the following days, her friends and family started checking places to find out where she was.

Liz had a Beaver Falls address but was actively staying in New Brighton. After 4 days, an attempt was made to file a missing persons report with the New Brighton Police Department, who allegedly relayed the report would have to be filed with Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls Police allegedly responded that New Brighton would have to file the report. An anonymous call was then received that her body was at Brightwood Manor and was discovered on April 12th.  Her last phone ping was reportedly in New Brighton at an unspecified location.

People close to Liz say that her phone, purse, money, and clothes that she was in possession of have not been found. They say they have reasons to believe something suspicious happened to her.

Liz was described as “an amazing mother who loved her kids, her faith in God was like no there. She was loving, caring, and tried to help everybody.”  A memorial for Liz was setup outside of Brightwood Manor but was removed Wednesday by an unknown person or group.

Livingston accepted a plea in Beaver County Court on Thursday to serve 3 to 23 months for the charge of abuse of corpse.

The State Police are continuing to investigate the case.

The results are in for the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards and for the third year in a row, Kennywood and Phantom’s Revenge secured top ten spots in the country.

Kennywood, one of only two National Historical Landmark amusement parks in the country, has created timeless fun and cherished memories for guests for more than 125 years. The park frequently receives national recognition for its modern thrills and iconic traditions unlike anywhere else. This year, the park has secured the eighth spot on the USA Today 10Best list of Best Theme Parks in the US.

The Phantom’s Revenge landed third on the USA Today 10Best list of Best Roller Coasters in the US. The fan-favorite coaster is consistently named in the Top 10 of this poll year after year. It is one of Kennywood’s most thrilling and revered rides with its 232-foot drop and speed of 85 miles per hour.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published May 2, 2024 1:40 P.M.

(Darlington Township, Pa) State Police report that they filed a citation against a local business for numerous false alarms. Troopers responded to Rochester Machine on Cannelton Road in Darlington Township a report of an alarm on April 6th. Troopers determined the premise was secure upon arrival. The incident was the 4th false alarm at the business this year and Troopers filed a citation.

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized stronger air quality standards for soot pollution and one regional organization said it is a step in the right direction.

The EPA said the plan reflects the latest health data and scientific evidence and the final rule goes into effect Monday.

Nick Hood, community organizer at the Center for Coalfield justice, said soot is fine particulate matter from power plants, vehicles, and refineries and the EPA is revising its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for soot. He added any improvement in the standards will certainly help Pennsylvanian health.

“If you live within, I think it is, a couple of kilometers of a well, you have a four to five times greater chance of developing asthma,” Hood pointed out. “Decreasing the amount of particulate matter that’s actually allowed to be polluted from some of these sources will certainly be helpful in not exacerbating those asthma cases.”

Opponents of the changes said the stricter standards could push factories to move overseas, costing American jobs and hurting the economy.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, said it will reduce the maximum allowable amount of soot from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to nine. He noted controlling pollution output in Pennsylvania would save lives.

“High levels of soot are associated with asthma attacks, pulmonary and respiratory issues and hospital visits related to those issues, and premature death,” Dodson explained. “This hits Black and brown communities hardest. Black Americans 65 and older are three times as likely to die from exposure to elevated soot than white people of the same age.”

Dodson added his organization and its community partners launched the Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project last year. The group distributed monitors to track particulate matter in the air, installed at homes and clinics. They are expanding to include the five-state region of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator named Wally has gone missing amid the coastal marshes of Georgia. Joie Henney’s alligator has attracted thousands of social media followers over the years, with videos and photos showing people petting and cuddling the 5 1/2-foot reptile. Wally’s popularity skyrocketed last year when the gator was denied entrance to a Philadelphia Phillies game. Now Henney says the alligator that has helped relieve his depression for nearly a decade vanished April 21 from an outdoor enclosure during a vacation in Brunswick, Georgia. He posted a tearful TikTok video asking people to help “bring my baby back.”

FILE – Chester County, Pa., election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 4, 2020. Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, approved a bill long-sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state and to avoid a repeat of 2020’s drawn-out vote count. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is advancing legislation long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state. The bill passed on party lines Wednesday, 102-99, as Democrats backed it and Republicans opposed it, warning that it would open the door to fraud. Under the bill, county election workers could start processing ballots up to seven days before election day. Nearly every state allows time before Election Day for workers to process mail-in ballots. Currently, Pennsylvania doesn’t let counties begin before Election Day. It faces long odds in the Senate, where the GOP majority insists that Pennsylvania first toughen voter identification requirements.

FILE – Duane Eddy performs on the third day of the 2014 Stagecoach Music Festival at the Empire Polo Field, April 27, 2014, in Indio, Calif. Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, died of cancer Tuesday, April 30, 2024. He was 86. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and “Cannonball” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at age 86. With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones.

CARNEGIE, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio announced the winner of his second annual Congressional Art Competition. Each spring, the House of Representatives sponsors a visual art competition for high school students. Young people from across the nation are invited to showcase their art and highlight their home congressional districts.

Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office received many submissions from talented high school students in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. This year, the first-place prize is presented to Mira Owens of Indianola, PA, a sophomore at Fox Chapel Area High School. Ms. Owens’ artwork is titled JOY. It is an abstract, acrylic painting that contains imaginative depictions of the artist’s daily life in Western Pennsylvania. She resides in Indiana Township.

“The creative energy of these students is truly inspiring” said Congressman Deluzio. “I’m grateful to everyone who submitted their work and put their imagination on display for all of us to see. Congratulations to Mira Owens and the other 2024 winners of the Congressional Art Competition across the country. I look forward to seeing their art when I’m down in Washington for votes this year!”

Mira Owens will be honored at an event in Washington, D.C. alongside the other art competition winners from congressional districts across the country. The student art will be featured in a gallery in the United States Capitol for a full year. This gallery decorates one of the busiest corridors in the U.S. Capitol Complex, giving Members of Congress and visitors from across the nation the chance to enjoy Ms. Owens’ work.

LAS VEGAS – A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania resident today for kidnapping a woman in Pennsylvania then driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert.

John Matthew Chapman, 44, was found guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death. United States District Judge James C. Mahan scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 2, 2024. Chapman faces the maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the eight-day trial, on November 14, 2019, the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania conducted a welfare check on the victim at the request of a friend. During the welfare check, neighbors stated that they had not seen the victim in approximately two months, but they had observed a person whom they believed to be her boyfriend (Chapman) entering and leaving the victim’s residence. Inside the victim’s residence, officers found identification cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, the victim’s cellular telephone, multiple zip ties, and a roll of duct tape.

On November 15, 2019, Bethel Park Police Department detectives arrested and interviewed Chapman. During the interview, Chapman admitted that in September 2019 he drove the victim from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas, Nevada. He further admitted that he misled the victim to believe the trip was a vacation and they would potentially purchase a residence in Las Vegas. Chapman, however, had planned to kill the victim before their departure to Nevada. Chapman told investigators that he drove the victim out to the desert in Lincoln County, Nevada. Under the pretext of a bondage photo shoot, Chapman bound the victim’s hands and feet with plastic zip ties and affixed her to a signpost. Then he applied duct tape to her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation.

The joint investigation revealed that Chapman returned to Pennsylvania. He pretended to be the victim, including using the victim’s Facebook messenger account, and he continuously used the victim’s residence and money following her death.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement.

The FBI Las Vegas Division, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada, and the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Penelope Brady, Megan Rachow, and Steven Rose are prosecuting the case.