Suspect in mail carrier’s fatal shooting in Collier thought victim was poisoning him, feds say

The man suspected of gunning down a mail carrier Thursday in Collier told investigators he believed the carrier had poisoned him, according to charges filed in federal court.

Eric Kortz, 53, of Pittsburgh, is charged with murder of an employee of the United States and possession of a firearm, court records show.

Kortz appeared in a virtual detention hearing shortly before 5:30 p.m. in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia R. Eddy. Federal prosecutors asked for Kortz to be held without bond, to which Eddy agreed.

In the hearing, Kortz did not appear alongside his public defenders, Andrew Lipson and Aaron Sontz, but rather appeared separately from where he is being held. He wore a forest green T-shirt and spoke only to attest that the financial information he had provided was accurate.

The shooting happened shortly after 10 a.m. on Suburban Avenue, police said. Police and paramedics arrived and found a mail carrier dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday identified the carrier as Louis Vignone, 58, of Moon Township.

The complaint, filed by U.S. Postal Inspector Erik Bohin, said Kortz told investigators that he shot Vignone because he believed Vignone and his family had poisoned Kortz and his family with cyanide.

The complaint said Kortz told police that he and Vignone used to be neighbors.

According to investigators, Kortz said he was familiar with Vignone’s mail route and drove to where he was on Suburban Avenue to “put some bullets in him.”

Kortz said he opened fire, dropped the gun, got into his van and then drove to the Carnegie Police Department where he was taken into custody.

Investigators said Vignone was shot multiple times, including once in the head. They found seven spent shell casings along with a firearm in a yard near the mail truck, according to the complaint.