Maryland murder may have Fayette County ties
FRIENDSVILLE, Md. – After learning of possible connections to Fayette County, state police in Uniontown have joined an investigation into the murder of an Allegheny County man whose body was found Saturday in Friendsville. Maryland State Police said Vincent R. Spadaro, 51, of 3708 Wood St., West Mifflin, was pronounced dead at the scene in Garrett County, Md., and officials from the Maryland Medical Examiner’s office used dental records to identify Spadaro.
It was not immediately clear what role police from Fayette County are playing in the investigation.
Friendsville is about five miles from Fayette County.
Sgt. Dave Heckman from the Uniontown barracks said he could not comment on the case Thursday evening.
According to Maryland police, two men riding all-terrain vehicles near the state line discovered Spadaro’s body around 4 p.m. Saturday.
Police said the men stopped to check out an unoccupied car that was sitting in the middle of Guard Road, a gravel road off of Frazee Road.
The men told police that they saw what appeared to be blood in the car and then walked around the area and found Spadaro’s body in the snow nearby.
Mark Wolf of Friendsville, one of the two men who found Spadaro’s body, said he immediately called 911 after the discovery.
The engineering student at West Virginia University said he first noticed the car blocking the snow-covered road and knew something was amiss. After a minute of looking around, he said they found the body about 30 feet from the car lying facedown in the woods.
“He had blood all over his face and on the side of his body.” Wolf said. “But he hadn’t been in an accident. The car was just sitting there. It was all really weird. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and it was something I didn’t really want to.”
The Maryland medical examiner has conducted an autopsy on the body but has not revealed a cause or manner of death in the case. However, police did report Spadaro suffered trauma to the upper body.
Police said they are continuing to search the scene for a possible weapon.
Investigators also converged on the Dixie Motel, just across the state line in Somerset County, in connection with the murder where several people were interviewed regarding the case.
Spadaro worked in Garrett County during the week, according to police, and had not been heard from by his family for four days before his body was discovered.
His wife, who was not identified, reported Spadaro missing just after his body was discovered, police said.
According to Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley, Spadaro worked on computers for Phoenix Technologies in Accident, Md.
The Spadaro family declined to comment on the case Thursday afternoon.