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Suspect in mail carrier's fatal shooting in Collier Township reportedly dies in jail

Suspect in mail carrier's fatal shooting in Collier Township reportedly dies in jail
Suspect in mail carrier's fatal shooting in Collier Township reportedly dies in jail 00:21

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man accused of shooting and killing a mail carrier in the fall of 2021 in Collier Township has died in jail.

Eric Kortz, 54, died on Tuesday in the Butler County Prison, the Trib reports. He had previously been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Kortz's lawyers had motioned for his release into hospice care, the Trib said. However, the Wednesday hearing was canceled following his death.

In November 2021, a two-count indictment was filed against Kortz.

Kortz was accused in the shooting death of 58-year-old Louis Vignone, of Moon Township, as he was working his mail route.

He told police he believed Vignone had poisoned him with cyanide.

Vignone was a mail carrier for more than 30 years and had been thinking about retirement when the shooting happened.

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