Julie Anne Taylor Wegmiller, 39, was killed the early morning of September 30, 2023, when a Toyota pickup she was riding in went over an embankment on River Road in Perry Township near Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. Troopers found her inside the truck with a fatal gunshot wound and her husband, Edwin Fran Wegmiller Jr., outside the vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds; he was flown to a hospital in critical condition.

Investigators say the couple had traveled from Corry to the Ellwood City/New Castle area that night and met Yohance Tacuma Mercer-Huffman and a woman. Edwin told police the pair had gone to several Lawrence County bars, and that when he and Julie tried to leave near a Wilson Avenue address, a man allegedly jumped into the back seat, produced a gun, and opened fire. Police reported a large amount of blood and several spent casings in the truck; a black dreadlock was recovered from Julie’s hand and a witness said Mercer-Huffman later returned to the house with a pistol and a wound on his arm.

Pennsylvania State Police identified 28-year-old Yohance Mercer-Huffman as the suspect; charges were filed October 20, 2023, and he was arrested the next day. At a March 2024 preliminary hearing, Edwin testified while recovering from nine gunshot wounds and the judge held homicide and related charges for trial.

Did anyone who knew Julie or the Wegmillers see them in the Ellwood City or New Castle area that night?