Handyman Suspected In Whitehall Woman's Disappearance Held For Court On Gun Charge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Police are still looking into the alibi of a man in a local woman's disappearance.
Elizabeth Wiesenfeld vanished from her Whitehall home along East Barlind Drive on April 30 and police think her handyman may have knowledge about what happened.
Her handyman, Douglas Berry, appeared in court on a separate charge Tuesday afternoon. A previously convicted felon, Berry is facing a gun possession charge.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller reports the Allegheny County detective who testified on behalf of the prosecution Tuesday made a few passing references to the missing Whitehall woman's case.
Berry's attorney asked the judge to drop the gun charge because the gun "belonged to his wife." Berry's wife told detectives that it was her gun sitting on their bed inside the couple's Liberty Borough home.
The detective testified that he stopped at Berry's home to ask him if he knew anything about Wiesenfeld's disappearance. Berry worked for Wiesenfeld in the past as her handyman. She was reported missing by her daughter on April 30.
The detective testified that a masked man wearing a sweatshirt with markings on it used Wiesenfeld's credit card at a PNC Bank sometime after she was reported missing. The detective said he saw a sweatshirt matching that description inside Berry's home when he was invited inside by Berry's wife that night.
Because the lab report is not yet available, Berry's attorney argued there was yet no proof of his client's fingerprints on the handgun. However, the judge ruled for his charges to stand. The judge agreed with the prosecutor that the fact that Berry's gun was out in plain view on his bed was enough to hold Berry's charges for court.
Berry now remains behind bars because of this gun charge, and he's still the only suspect associated in police paperwork with Wiesenfeld's disappearance. When Berry's attorney asked the judge about possible bond, the judge said bond was denied before and he needed to make any future requests to the Court of Common Pleas.
