Police: Multiple Weapons Used In Armstrong County Double Homicide
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PARKS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – Police are still searching for a gunman after two people were found dead inside a home in Armstrong County with a toddler nearby.
Multiple bullets pierced the walls and the doors inside the Parks Township home, which will make it difficult for investigators to piece the crime together.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police said they now know more than one weapon was used in the murders of Dawayne Klingensmith, 29, and Heather Swiklinski, 22.
"We know that there was another weapon involved that's not at the crime scene, so we're dealing with at least one other one. We have indications of possibly more, but at this point we know a minimum of one," State Police Lt. Eric Hermick said.
KDKA's Megan Schiller Reports --
Lt. Hermick said the suspect left a 17-month-old in its crib untouched and unharmed. Swiklinski was the boy's mother.
Several hours passed between the time of the murders and when a family member discovered the gruesome scene.
"I think that can be determined based on the amount of soil in the diaper and the conditions of the house at the time. It was several hours," Lt. Hermick said.
As the agency reconstructed the crime scene, it also secured a search warrant to remove more evidence from the home.
That evidence, in addition to the multiple weapons, leads police to believe more than one person entered the home Monday afternoon with the intention to kill the couple.
"I don't want to alarm the general public, but at this point in the investigation, we can't say for sure what the situation was when the crime occurred. There was a previous break-in at this house two weeks prior," Lt. Hermick said.
Meanwhile, family members are remembering the couple. Swiklinski's uncle says she was a loving mother.
"She was a really great mom," said Ernie Bottles, Swiklinski's uncle. "Did very much with her son. Would have drawing sessions at the table with him. I just like to remember all the things she would do while growing up."
Leonard Hayden, 17, is Klingensmith's nephew. He's heartbroken over losing his uncle.
"He was a real nice person. We always did everything together. We'd go camping and fishing together. He was a real nice guy," said a tearful Hayden.
He says he's at a loss as to why someone would do something so senseless.
"I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't stop crying; I just wanted to see him," said Hayden. "A gun is not the way to make it right."
Even though criminals had broken into the home, police didn't say what was stolen, if anything. Police also were not comfortable saying the couple was targeted, or if this was a random act.
State police are interviewing a number of people, but none of them are being called suspects.
