Man charged with murder in Preston County and Pennsylvania

A West Virginia man was charged with murder Monday in the shooting death of another motorist on Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania in what state police said appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.

“Good news! Pennsylvania State Police and the District Attorney have filed a 1st Degree Murder charge against John Wayne Strawser, Jr. from West Virginia who is now in jail for killing his ex-girlfriend in April 2015”, the statement read.

Davison, 28, was driving home to Maine after visiting family in Florida when he called 911 from I-81 near the Maryland line early on January 4, 2014, to say someone in a pickup truck was firing on him.

Fogal said police confirmed that Strawser owned a 1997 Ford Ranger with dark lapis paint – the same color paint that had been found on Davison’s vehicle.

The man speculated Strawser mistook Davison’s silver SUV for the couple’s one.

A check with Strawser’s employers also told investigators that he had not been working that night, as he originally told them. Breese called police in April, after Strawser was arrested for a different murder. “John Wayne Strawser Jr., was charged in a homicide investigation in the Kingwood, WV area, around 04/16/15”, Trooper Cachara said in the affidavit.

Breese told police that he saw the news of Davison’s shooting the day after it happened and wondered if Strawser did it, but his wife dismissed the idea.

Franklin County District Attorney Matthew Fogal said there is strong evidence Strawser was stalking the couple on the night of the Davison shooting and that it is “fair to conclude that at least the initial attack by Strawser was specifically intended for someone else”. There was a “volatile” relationship and the couple left going north on Interstate 81, into Pennsylvania.

Davison’s family Monday issued a statement to thank investigators and law enforcement in Pennsylvania and West Virginia via a family-run website that had previously been set up to offer a reward and solicit tips in the case. Mays said it was his understanding that there was a romantic involvement in the Buckingham murder also, and that Strawser had multiple relationships with many women.

“I never doubted it, not once, I always knew that eventually the person would be found”, Allocca said.

That’s where West Virginia State Police met with Strawser’s neighbor.

There is also anger, she said.

Police said that in a recording of the 911 call an engine revving is audible, along with shots being fired and the squeal of wheels accelerating away from the scene.

Court records indicate that Stawser’s neighbor led police to a field that Strawser often visited, which resulted in investigators discovering a wooden box “that contained a.44 caliber Rossi Ranch Hand pistol”.

Davison’s family says the news bring a mixture of relief, sadness and frustration. “I am excited that they caught someone and I am very happy for the police departments that are involved”, Hemond said.

Officials said they were also able to match Strawser’s DNA to a bullet casing found at the scene.