'Kill for Thrill' 40 years later: Murder Victim Northside Man

Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review wrote a series of articles 40 years ago about a murder spree in which four people were killed in eight days across Western Pennsylvania. This is one of the original articles, published Monday, Dec. 31, 1979.

A murder victim whose body was found in Loyalhanna Township Saturday morning has been identified as Peter A. Levato, 49, of 3120 Mt. hope Road, Pittsburgh.

Levato, a resident of Pittsburgh’s Northside, died as a result of two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the chest, Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner Delores Meidus reported.

The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office has not determined when the victim was shot or what weapon was used in the shooting, Meidus said. She declined to reveal any details of the shooting because the state police at Kiski Valley and the Westmoreland County sheriff’s department are investigating the murder.

State police reported Levato’s body was found in a wooded area near the Loyalhanna Creek reservoir by a youth who was trapping.

Although the coroner’s office took the victim’s fingerprints, Bacha said that he is not certain how the body was identified. No identification was found on the victim.