Tyrone Police Chief Joseph Beachem said Friday his department is proceeding with an investigation of the murder on Monday of a six-year-old boy and the beating of his mother in a “step-by-step” and “fair” manner.
He said, “The victims deserve nothing less than that.”
Beachem told The Daily Herald between eight to 10 officers worked on the case this week and three or four officers continue to work on the investigation.
Beachem noted, “This is a horrific crime that has had a profound affect on the community.”
Beachem said as of Friday no one had been charged in the case including the man police have called “a person of interest” since the start of their investigation.
Jared Klein was killed Monday night as a result of a stabbing at a residence at 1550 Pennsylvania Avenue in Tyrone. His mother, Christina Muoio, was beaten in the attack and hospitalized.
Police began to look for a paroled convict as a “person of interest’ in the case almost immediately. The man, 25-year-old Nathan Todd Shaw, is the father of Muoio’s two-year-old daughter. Muoio has been described as Shaw’s ex-girlfriend. Police alerted the public to their interest in Shaw and said he should not be approached.
Shaw was apprehended on Wednesday afternoon by authorities in Oklahoma after a call to police there about a suspicious vehicle in a church parking lot. Police in Blackwell, OK approached Shaw and when he couldn’t produce identification he allegedly fled in a stolen car and led police on a high-speed chase before crashing the car. He fled on foot and eventually was apprehended. He was treated for injuries from the crash and he underwent tests at a hospital after the incident.
Shaw was arraigned on charges stemming from the chase and the use of a stolen vehicle on Thursday. He was remanded to jail in Kay County, OK on $1 million bond.
On Friday, assistant Kay County DA Will Clark confirmed Blair County prosecutors’ plan to his county’s district attorney Mark Gibson on Tuesday about Shaw.
Assistant Blair County DA Richard Consiglio told The Daily Herald earlier this week that there have already been preliminary conversations with prosecutors in Oklahoma regarding Shaw.
Consiglio will be sworn in next week as district attorney after being elected to the position in November. Outgoing DA Dave Gorman chose not to run for the position after originally indicating he would seek another term. Consiglio has had the lead role for the DA’s office in the murder case since going to the crime scene to aid police in their investigation earlier this week. He said prosecutors are often called in to view serious crime scenes and offer assistance to police in terms of the type of evidence that might prove useful in a prosecution.
Consiglio said prosecutors in Oklahoma have priority over any charges Shaw faces or could face in Pennsylvania. He said that’s because Shaw was arrested there for felony crimes allegedly committed in Oklahoma.
Consiglio said prosecutors there could drop charges, “hold them in abeyance” or proceed with their charges. What Oklahoma authorities decide will determine when Shaw would return to Pennsylvania. For now, he is only wanted here on his parole violation. Shaw was paroled from a state prison in Chester earlier this month after serving less than half of a prison term for theft and assault charges.
Authorities have said Shaw had already waived his rights regarding extradition as part of his parole process.
The car used by Shaw in Oklahoma was listed as stolen and was reported as belonging to Muoio. Chief Beachem said the car would be processed for possible evidence in their investigation.
A spokesperson for Altoona Regional Medical Center said Muoio was still listed as “serious” as of Wednesday morning. Yesterday, a hospital spokesperson said they had no information on anyone with Muoio’s name.
Muoio’s son died shortly after the attack on Monday night. Blair County Chief Deputy Coroner Jeff Guyer confirmed Jared Klein died at 10:10 p.m. at the scene.
An autopsy was conducted Tuesday at J.C. Blair Hospital in Huntingdon. The boy died as a result of a single stab wound to the left side of his neck. Guyer said Klein bled to death as a result of hemorrhaging that occurred.
Klein would have turned seven on Jan. 7. He attended St. Matthew’s Elementary School. The school plans to offer counseling to students. Principal Jamie DiDomenico said any other plans the school has regarding the boy’s death remain undecided. The school is in recess for the holidays until Monday.
An obituary published about the boy yesterday said he was born in Chester in 1999 and was the son of Muoio and Timothy Klein. Jared was a member of St. Matthew Catholic Church and was in the first grade.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, Jan. 6, 2005 at noon at St. Matthew Church. Interment will be at Our Lady of Grace Cemetery, Langhorne. Friends will be received at Feller Memorial Home on Friday, Jan. 6, 2005 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
The obituary said memorial gifts may be made to the St. Matthew Restoration Fund, 406 W. 11th St., Tyrone, PA 16686.
