Penn Hills man could spend 50 years in prison for killing woman in East Pittsburgh

A Penn Hills man who confessed to beating a woman, throwing her down a flight of basement stairs and strangling her to death in June pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree murder and other charges.

Delrico Trevo McClinton, 29, was sentenced to as many as 50 years in prison.

McClinton confessed to killing Whitney Boyer, 25, of East Pittsburgh, according to a criminal complaint.

McClinton asked June 17 to speak to a counselor while he was in the Cambria County Jail on an unrelated probation violation. He told the counselor that he wanted to admit to killing someone.

Later, he told a Cambria County detective that he had sex with Boyer and killed her. State police became involved and investigated.

McClinton told state police he met Boyer early on June 1 and took her to an East Pittsburgh home where they had sex. Afterward, he beat and killed her, he told police, according to the complaint.

Boyer’s remains were found in the basement of the house on June 17. She was strangled and had a head wound, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office found, according to the complaint.

McClinton told police he went through Boyer’s purse and took a bank card. He used it to buy cigarettes, withdraw $200 in cash and use ride-sharing services to make various stops that day, according to the complaint.

The woman who rented the home where Boyer was found told police she was formerly in a relationship with McClinton and had told him he wasn’t allowed to stay there anymore. She told police she hadn’t been at the house for more than a month, according to the complaint.

McClinton pleaded guilty to charges of third degree murder, theft and access device fraud before Allegheny County Judge Jill Rangos.

In exhange for the plea, Rangos sentenced McClinton to 25 to 50 years in prison.