A jury on Wednesday found a Tarentum man guilty of third-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a woman with whom he had a relationship.
Juan H. Hayden, 58, will be sentenced Jan. 16. He also was found guilty of tampering with evidence.
Police said Hayden beat, strangled and stabbed Susan Jeffries, 55, in her home on East Ninth Avenue in Tarentum on Aug. 30, 2019.
According to the criminal complaint, the two knew each other.
In an initial interview with police, Hayden said he had been with Jeffries earlier in the day but got angry when she brought another man home, so he left.
He claimed when he returned, he found her lying wounded on the kitchen floor and called 911.
But police noted cuts on Hayden’s arm, which he claimed were caused by Jeffries scratching him while he applied pressure to her wounds.
Later, Hayden claimed Jeffries lunged at him with a knife and he stabbed her in self-defense. According to the police criminal complaint, Hayden hid the knife he used to stab Jeffries behind her couch.
After the slaying, the arrest of Hayden stunned Jeffries’ acquaintances, with one friend saying Hayden “was always walking around talking about God. I wouldn’t have thought anything like this.”
Defense attorney Elbert Gray said he and his co-counsel, Carmen Robinson, are disappointed in the verdict.
“We don’t believe the evidence supported the verdict,” he said.
They expect to appeal.
