Police: Passenger found dead in car during Jeannette traffic stop

A woman’s suspicious death Friday is under investigation by Jeannette police and Westmoreland County detectives, according to police Chief Shannon Binda.

April J. Claiborne, 31, of Ligonier, was found dead in the front passenger seat of a vehicle during a 7:48 a.m. traffic stop at the intersection of Lowry Avenue and Park Street, Binda said. Claiborne was lying prone, or face down, in the reclined seat, he said.

A Jeannette officer saw the woman and pulled the male driver over for an inspection violation.

The coroner’s office said Clairborne was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was performed Friday, though results are not available.

Investigators are awaiting toxicology results to determine Claiborne’s cause of death, Binda said. Those results won’t be available for several weeks.

Binda declined to identify the male driver. No charges have been filed in the case.

Claiborne had been employed as a counselor at Community Options in Washington and attended Keystone Free Will Baptist Church, according to her obituary. She is survived by her parents, John and Linda Claiborne; a daughter, Natalie; and her “soulmate,” Jesse Bjorkland, the obituary said.

She was buried Tuesday in Hillview Cemetery.