A missing Whitehall woman is presumed dead and her handyman is the main suspect in the case, according to court documents related to the case.
Elizabeth Wiesenfeld, 67, last spoke to her family the evening of April 29, according to Allegheny County police. Her daughter reported her missing the next morning when she didn’t show up for work.
Police said they found blood in Wisenfeld’s bed, and a “masked person” used her debit card at a Route 51 PNC Bank sometime after her disappearance.
Her handyman, 47-year-old Douglas Berry, of McKeesport, is the main suspect in her disappearance, police said. He has not been charged in relation to the case.
Investigators went to Berry’s Washington Boulevard home about 11:30 p.m. May 1 with a warrant to search Berry’s Ford F150, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. His wife told officers Berry wasn’t home.
Police said she also indicated there was a gun in the couple’s bedroom.
A new search warrant for Berry’s home led police to seize the firearm, a 9mm Glock, which had a round in the chamber and six in the magazine, according to the complaint.
Berry pleaded guilty in 2001 to robbery in Berks County. As a convicted felon, he cannot legally own a firearm. Allegheny County police arrested Berry on the firearm violation May 2.
A judge denied Berry bail, according to court records, citing Berry as a “prime suspect in a missing person case, who is presumed dead.”
Investigators searched a large wooded area near Glassport, Lincoln and Liberty on Monday but found no sign of the woman. Police would not say what led them to the area other than “information.”
Staff writer Madasyn Czebiniak contributed to this report.
