Pa. Man Charged In Connection To 1988 Cold Case, Suspected In Multiple Other Homicides
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Fairview, Pa., man has been charged in connection to a fatal shooting from 1988.
Pennsylvania State Police in New Castle announced 59-year-old Regis Andrew Brown was charged Wednesday for the fatal shooting of 45-year-old Bryce Kenneth Tompkins, of New Castle.
Tompkins' body was found partially submerged in the Neshannock Creek in Hickory Township, Lawrence County, on Dec. 26, 1988. Police say Tompkins had been shot twice in the back.
"After 30 years, I'm completely relieved for our family that we can have that closure and my dad, he can rest now, and also that my sister, that she can rest as well," Stacey Harding, Tompkins' daughter, said.
"I think the most important thing is that it's solved. Other people will not be hurt, and just that everyone's aware of what a great guy he was," Barbara Shepherd, Tompkins' mother, said.
According to officials, Brown and another man had been arrested in 1988 for committing a series of burglaries and robberies in New Castle.
During an interview with officials this year, Brown confessed to Tompkins' murder, saying Tompkins had witnessed one of the burglaries.
Brown was arrested in 2018 for allegedly murdering his wife and stepdaughter in Erie County in March, and officials say Brown has been arrested for, confessed to or is a strong suspect in eight homicides in northwestern Pennsylvania dating from 1986 to 2016. Further details are not available because the investigations are ongoing.
Officials say Brown also may be tied to or have information related to an additional six to eight homicides.
Brown has been charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and intimidation of witnesses in connection to Tompkins' murder.