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Man Accused In NYC Subway Death Has Local Ties

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The man accused of pushing another man onto subway tracks in front of an oncoming train in New York City has ties to Beaver County.

Police in New York arrested Naeem Davis shortly after the train incident earlier this week.

Davis was raised as a foster child in a home in New Brighton.

His foster parents, James and Ruth Scialabba, refuse to talk about the man now accused of throwing someone in front of a subway.

But neighbors remember him as a quiet guy.

"He just kept to himself," said Kevin Czarnecky, a neighbor. "I really didn't get to speak him… never really got to see him much. He didn't say hi, he didn't speak to nobody."

Now, Davis is known everywhere.

A photo in the New York Post shows the victim desperately trying to climb off of the tracks moments before he's killed.

Back in New Brighton, they can't believe it.

"Shocking that somebody lived so close to home. [I] seen him around, it's a familiar face," said Czarnecky. "[I] seen him on the news, it was like - wow, I know that guy, I've seen him before."

Neighbors tell KDKA's Paul Martino that the Scialabba family's been taking in foster children at their home in New Brighton for many years.

In fact, neighbors say they're caring for foster children right now.

Meanwhile, Davis has a rap sheet in Beaver County that goes on for pages and pages. It dates all the way back to 1998 with numerous arrests and convictions for theft, receiving stolen property and forgery.

Authorities say he even stole lab tops from a police car.

RELATED LINKS:
From CBS NY - Police: Suspect In Fatal Subway Push Charged With Murder (12/4/12)
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