2 dead after dispute between siblings in Allegheny Township

Authorities said a domestic dispute between a brother and sister ended in a murder-suicide early Wednesday in Westmoreland County.

The shootings took place at a home in the 900 block of Route 356 in Allegheny Township following a dispute between a man in his late 50s and his sister, who is in her early 60s, according to police Chief Duane Fisher.

The Westmoreland County coroner’s office said Karen A. Dufford, 62, died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Her brother, John E. Dufford, 59, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Dufford killed his sister at 3:20 a.m. and shot himself in the head two minutes later, the coroner said.

Fisher said John Dufford had been intoxicated when he got into a dispute with his sister and physically assaulted her.

“Officers were dispatched to the home at about 11:30 p.m. for a report of a domestic (dispute), but the man had already left on foot by the time they arrived,” Fisher said.

While officers were interviewing Karen Dufford and her mother, who lives in the home, John Dufford walked to the township’s police station and used a telephone in the lobby that is connected to dispatchers to ask to speak with an officer, the chief said.

“We don’t know if he actually wanted to speak to an officer or if the call was made to try and distract us,” Fisher said. “The officers at the home went to the station, but the man was gone when they got there.”

Fearing he was heading back to the house, the officers requested assistance from Vandergrift and Washington Township police departments to set up a perimeter near Giant Eagle and searched the densely wooded area for about an hour in an effort to apprehend him, the chief said.

While officers were at the station preparing to file assault charges against the John Dufford, they received a call from his sister that became disconnected, Fisher said.

“When officers called back, the mother answered and said there was a shooting and somebody was killed.”

John Dufford previously had been charged with simple assault and making terroristic threats for an incident in May. He was released on $20,000 unsecured bond after being arraigned on those charges and was scheduled to appear before District Judge Cheryl Peck-Yakopec in late November.

Mark Zebracki, 75, said he was checking on his dogs about 1 a.m. He saw flashing lights down the street and thought there may have been a fire. It wasn’t until later that he learned the lights were from police. Zebracki said he’s lived on the street for about eight years, and nothing like this has ever happened.

The incident happened in a rural area of Westmoreland County. The house sits right along Route 356, a relatively busy road. By early afternoon Wednesday, traffic had resumed on the street and nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the quiet neighborhood.

Anne Dufford, the siblings’ mother, said the incident is devastating for the family.

“It’s the worst thing that could happen,” Dufford said. “They were both wonderful kids. The world has ended for me.”

Tribune-Review staff writer Paul Peirce contributed to this report.