Escaped inmate suspected in killing near Pennsylvania jail

A homicide discovered this afternoon in Armstrong County and an inmate’s morning escape from the nearby county jail appear to be related.

Armstrong County officials say 38-year-old Robert Crissman ran from the jail around 6:30 a.m. Thursday while delivering meals to other inmates. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Crissman is believed to have walked to the woman’s home, which is about a mile away from the jail.

After the male occupant left for work, Crissman is suspected of killing a 55-year-old woman inside the home, the newspaper said, citing a state trooper and the sheriff.

Around 2:30 p.m. police were called to a homicide scene on Rayburn Road in Rayburn, the 911 supervisor said.

Pittsburgh broadcaster WPXI reported that the victim let Crissman into the house to use the phone and was also going to allow him to borrow her truck.

“They only knew him as a friend”, Andreassi said. It has a union sticker and Pennsylvania plate.

Crissman is 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes.

Crissman had been jailed on a non-violent drug offense, the station said. “This all seems really out of character from the guy I knew”.

In a news release issued this afternoon, police accused Crissman, of Templeton, of being involved in a murder but gave no details.