Jun 16, 2009 2 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – The alleged suspect in a June 1 homicide death of a Connellsville woman died the same day as a result of natural causes. Connellsville police Det. Lt. Steve Shaffer said Monday that an autopsy report for James Claybourne has indicated he did not die at his own hand as police had considered as a possibility following the incident. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office earlier ruled that Priscilla Harris died of blunt force trauma to the head.

According to Shaffer, police found Harris, 58, in her South Eighth Street home at about 6 p.m. after Claybourne, 63, her purported boyfriend, had been found dead in a McCormick Avenue residence nearly six hours earlier.

Initially police speculated that Claybourne might have taken Harris’ life and then returned to the McCormick Avenue residence and committed suicide.

Shaffer said that during an autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, the investigators were advised that Claybourne had a “bad heart.”

“There were no outward signs of what did cause him to die and all along I advised the family and the public that the results from the autopsy and crime scene investigation would reveal how Mr. Claybourne died,” he said. “Now we have learned that he did not commit suicide, but rather died of natural causes.”

Shaffer said that the department would now await reports from the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory to tie Claybourne to Harris’ death.

“We’re leaving all aspects of the investigation open at this time,” he said. “The state police reports will give us a definitive answer to our questions.

“This not like television; we’re not going to be able to resolve the case in two hours, but we will solve this case.”