John L. Jack Parkes, 59, was found fatally shot in the head at his Poplar Street home in Kennedy Township on July 21, 2014. His live-in girlfriend of 20 years, Carol Lapaglia, discovered him; neighbors said the garage door and back gate were unusually wide open and the house appeared ransacked. Parkes and Lapaglia had been planning to marry in a matter of weeks.

Investigators focused on a suspect from within the extended household circle. Allegheny County police arrested 22-year-old Michael Lapaglia, the nephew of Parkes’ fiancée. Jewelry belonging to Parkes and his fiancée was missing; a pawn shop employee photographed items Michael tried to sell and Carol Lapaglia later identified them. Police say Michael gave conflicting statements during questioning before confessing, and that some stolen pieces were sold at another jewelry store.

At trial the defense raised post-traumatic stress disorder from military service in Afghanistan; the prosecution described a planned robbery that escalated to murder. In June 2015 a jury convicted Michael Lapaglia of first-degree murder and robbery, and he received life without parole plus 10 to 20 years for the robbery. Did anyone in the neighborhood notice unfamiliar visitors to the Poplar Street home around July 21, 2014?