Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

A 25-year-old man was arraigned last night on murder charges in the death of a six-year-old Tyrone boy, Jared Klein, on the day after Christmas.
Nathan Todd Shaw was also charged with raping the boy’s mother at her residence that same evening.
Until yesterday, Shaw had been called “a person of interest” in the case, but no one had been named as a suspect or charged. Shaw fled the state after allegedly stealing a vehicle belonging to the female victim. The Daily Herald is not naming the woman because she has been identified as a sexual assault victim.
Shaw was apprehended in Oklahoma two days after the Tyrone crimes after leading police on a high-speed chase. Police impounded the car that Shaw was using in Oklahoma. It had been reported as stolen in a national database system. Tyrone authorities went to Oklahoma to retrieve the car for possible evidence in the Tyrone crimes.
The car was brought back to Tyrone and processed on Monday according to a police criminal complaint against Shaw. Authorities found a white turtleneck shirt covered in blood in the car. The shirt was tested for the presence of blood and was then packaged and sent to the state police crime lab in Greensburg for further testing. Tyrone Police Chief Joseph Beachem said based on the size of the clothing it is believed to be a child’s shirt.
Shaw was charged with offenses related to the police chase and was held in Kay County, OK on $1 million bond. Prosecutors there eventually decided to drop those charges to allow for the return of Shaw to Pennsylvania on a parole violation.
As The Daily Herald first reported on Saturday, Shaw was picked up by a private transport company on Friday afternoon in Oklahoma. He arrived back in Pennsylvania yesterday and was lodged at SCI Houtzdale on the parole violation. A spokesperson for the state, LeeAnn Halfast, said Shaw arrived at the prison at 2:45 p.m. She said that Shaw would need to be scheduled for a preliminary hearing for his parole violation.
Shaw had spent less than a year in jail on theft and assault charges when he was paroled early last month.
According to the police complaint, police found a train ticket in Shaw’s name dated December 26 for travel from Johnstown to Tyrone at the residence where the crimes took place. Other items linking Shaw to the crime were taken from the scene and many of the items have been sent to the Greensburg crime lab for testing and analysis.
An autopsy conducted the day after Jared Klein’s death showed that the manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was hemorrhaging due to a knife wound in the neck. The criminal complaint said there was also evidence of an assault against the boy. The autopsy showed there was bruising to the boy’s head, back and chest. Evidence was also present that the boy was strangled.
After Shaw was processed into prison yesterday afternoon, Tyrone Police didn’t wait long to charge him and he was transported from SCI Houtzdale yesterday evening for an arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller in Snyder Township.
In addition to the murder and rape charge, Shaw is also charged with sexual assault, three aggravated indecent assault counts, two aggravated assault counts, two indecent assault counts, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment. He was also charged with theft by unlawful taking for stealing the woman’s car.
Chief Beachem said he’d like to see justice for the family in the case. He said, “We’re going to give it our best effort.”
Since the night of the crime, several officers worked on the case for days. Beachem said three or four core officers remained on the case beyond that time period.
A preliminary hearing for Shaw is scheduled for next Tuesday at 9 a.m. before Judge Miller.

By Rick