A neighborhood dispute in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania, turned deadly in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, May 26, 2019. The victim, 44-year-old Joseph Iavarone, a recently retired physical education teacher and coach in the Garnet Valley School District, was shot in the head during an argument with his neighbor, 49-year-old John Ballas. Iavarone was found unresponsive on Ballas’s lawn and taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in critical condition.

Ballas was arrested at the scene and initially charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault; after Iavarone’s condition deteriorated, charges were upgraded to criminal homicide, including first- and third-degree murder. Friends and former colleagues remember Iavarone for his happy-go-lucky nature and infectious smile. Was anyone in Chester Heights aware of tensions between neighbors on Bishops Drive that weekend, or does anyone have information about what led to the argument?