Mother of slain teacher lashes out at police department probing her murder
The mother of a 33-year-old former teacher who was fatally shot multiple times in Pennsylvania earlier this month said there is "no way" a local police department should be involved in the investigation into her death. Lisa DelTondo, the mother of Rachael DelTondo, is calling for an external agency to investigate her daughter's killing, the Beaver Countian reports.
Lisa DelTondo fears the Aliquippa Police Department's involvement in the probe will provide ample fodder for the defense team if an arrest is made in the case, according to the Beaver Countian.
She said the Pennsylvania State Police told her, after her daughter's death, that the department remains the target of public corruption investigations.
The police department leaked sensitive information about Rachael DelTondo to an unauthorized individual in the community in October -- something Don Couch, the Aliquippa Police Chief, had classified as a clerical error.
The daughter of Aliquippa Police Sgt. Kenneth Watkins was the among the last people to see Rachael DelTondo while she was alive. And some in the department have accused Watkins of entering the active crime scene the night of Rachael's killing.
In an interview with CBS Pittsburgh earlier this month, District Attorney David Lozier said he has "no questions as to the ability of the Aliquippa Police Department detectives to conduct this investigation fairly."
"They're working with my detectives, the Beaver County Detective Bureau, the Pennsylvania State Police, as a team," he said. "They would not be part of this team if there were any question as to their capacity or their integrity."
Lisa DelTondo said: "He is going to do or say whatever he can to make himself look good."
A family member has said that Rachael DelTondo was returning from getting ice cream with friends on Mother's Day. As she was getting out of her car at her mother's home, neighbors in the quiet, tight-knit community say they heard as many as a dozen gunshots, reported CBS News' Nikki Battiste. Police say DelTondo was shot at point blank range and died in the driveway.
