Uniontown man charged with killing wife waives homicide case to court
Suspect was found in Las Vegas with $140k in cash and plans to flee the country
A day after Arthur Guty’s wife was found dead inside their Uniontown home on New Year’s Day, he was arrested at a Las Vegas resort with $140,000 in cash and plans to flee the country, according to Fayette County’s lead prosecutor.
Franverlys “Nicole” Zambrano was found dead in her bed on Jan. 1 with a gunshot wound to her head, although District Attorney Michael Aubele said investigators believe she had been killed several days earlier since Guty made “inconsistent statements” about his wife’s whereabouts after her death.
Aubele said Zambrano, 26, may have died on Christmas Eve, but investigators aren’t exactly sure since Guty told her coworkers at Nemacolin and mutual friends various stories about where she was. By Dec. 29, Aubele said people became concerned about Zambrano after not hearing from her, prompting the check a few days later at the couple’s home at 39 Bierer Ave. Aubele said Guty apparently dumped a cellphone on the side of the highway in Maryland in an attempt to confuse authorities.
“We believe Ms. Zambrano was killed many days prior to actually finding her,” Aubele said. “We know when (Guty) left. We know when he started to contact family and friends to tell them where she was or where he wanted them to believe she was.”
After finding Zambrano’s body, Aubele said Uniontown police were able to “ping” Guty’s cellphone, which placed him in Las Vegas. Authorities there arrested him Jan. 2 at the Mardi Gras Casino resort, where he was found with about $140,000 in cash and plans to cross into Mexico, Aubele said.
“We anticipated he was going to flee the country,” Aubele said.
Guty agreed to extradition and was returned to Fayette County on Jan. 15 to face felony charges of homicide and aggravated assault. He is being held without bond at the Fayette County jail.
Guty, 56, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon before District Judge Jason Cox and will now stand trial on the charges in connection with his wife’s death. Guty signed paperwork to waive the proceedings while in a prisoner holding area in Cox’s district office away from the public, but he did not appear inside the courtroom.
Aubele spoke to reporters for several minutes after the proceeding to elaborate on the case and how investigators were able to locate Guty so quickly.
Aubele said the couple met through mutual friends and was married about six months before the killing. He said they may have been having marital issues at the time, but he did not elaborate on what exactly.
“We believe there was some marital disagreement. Mr. Guty was unhappy,” Aubele said. “It’s hard to understand exactly why he would do something like this but we have no doubt based on the evidence that this was intentional (and) premeditated.”
While Aubele said they are still awaiting the autopsy report to determine when Zambrano was killed, investigators know she died of a single gunshot wound to her head. Aubele added that Guty has not given any statements to investigators about the killing.
“She appeared to either be sleeping or caught off guard. There was no evidence of a struggle. There was no evidence of forced entry,” Aubele said. “She appeared to be laying in her bed peacefully with a gunshot wound to the head.”