Couple Charged In Kidnapping Returned To Pa. After Fleeing The State
GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- The couple who fled the state after allegedly kidnapping and beating a woman are now back in Pennsylvania to face charges.
The siblings were found in Ohio when police rushed their motel room. The siblings, from the Vandergrift and New Kensington areas, are being held in the Westmoreland County Jail.
April Alsippi, 33, and her 26-year-old boyfriend, Scott Lichtenwalner, were extradited back to Pennsylvania from Ohio where investigators say the pair had been since allegedly kidnapping a 77-year-old woman in North Apollo last month.
They arrived in separate police cars so they could not talk to each other during the near four-hour drive.
"We had gotten a tip through investigation down on the streets of New Kensington that they were staying at a motel out in Marion, Ohio," Sheriff Jonathan Held, of the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office. "We contacted the sheriff's office out there, and the sheriff's office along with the Marion Police, went to the motel we thought they were at, and did find them there."
The victim was kidnapped on a Friday just after 5:30 p.m. after giving a woman a ride from the Shop 'N Save parking lot.
After driving around, Alsippi told the 77-year-old woman to pull over and pick up Lichtenwalner. Investigators say he had a knife, eventually forcing the victim into the trunk of the car. Later, authorities say they drove her to an Apollo Trust Bank branch where she withdrew $5,000 for the siblings.
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Police say when they were found in Ohio, they were taken into custody without incident.
"There was no resistance. It was our understanding, they were taken by surprise, and there was no resistance," said Sheriff Held.
According to the sheriff, the victim is still shaken up from the incident, but is otherwise okay.
The suspects face numerous charges from the kidnapping incident, but prior to that, they were wanted on burglary charges in Upper Burrell.
