Community cooperation helps police identify suspect in Rostraver fatal New Year's shooting

Holly B. Vadella of Rostraver spent New Year’s Eve at her mother’s house watching television before insisting not long after midnight that she needed to head home and take care of her cat, said township police Chief John Christner.

“Her mom did try to convince her to stay,” Christner said.

Vadella, 59, loaded her beagle mix, Theo, into her Toyota RAV4 and left her mother’s Washington Township, Fayette County, home for the 5-mile trip. Ninety minutes into 2022, Vadella was shot fatally on Rostraver Road by another motorist, according to police.

Theo sat in the passenger seat of the SUV at the time of the shooting and stayed there for several hours while police investigated.

“Holly wouldn’t be out at that time of night any other day than New Year’s Eve, celebrating with mom,” Christner said.

Police pieced together surveillance footage from at least five residences and businesses and witness statements to identify a Belle Vernon man who they believe went to a bar to continue his New Year’s celebration after the shooting.

“We would not have been able to make this investigation successful without the community of Rostraver Township,” Christner said. “This was a very difficult set of circumstances.”

“We literally went door-to-door, and the citizens of Rostraver Township we talked to reached back and they helped us solve this investigation,” he said.

Police on Sunday arrested Anthony M. Hairston, 26, formerly of Monessen. He is charged with homicide and weapons offenses.

A township officer on patrol before 2 a.m. Saturday found Vadella dead from a single gunshot wound inside her SUV that was stopped on the side of Rostraver Road near its intersection with Virginia Drive. Investigators said the vehicle’s headlights were on and windshield wipers were running.

Township police, state police and Westmoreland County detectives over the next several hours pored over surveillance camera footage and found Vadella’s SUV was being followed closely by a white Chevrolet Traverse with dark trim, according to court papers.

Two gunshots were heard on surveillance footage after both SUVs passed by, police said.

Authorities learned the white SUV pulled into Sweeney’s Steakhouse on Rostraver Road about two minutes after the shots were fired, according to court papers. Hairston and three others were inside the bar until about 2:30 a.m.

Two of the people who were with him told authorities they were at a New Year’s party at Hairston’s home when they decided to move the celebration to Sweeney’s. While on the way there, the two witnesses said they came up behind a red SUV that was driving slowly and braking. When Hairston tried to pass the SUV, it swerved into his lane, the witnesses told police.

Hairston pulled out a gun, reached over the passenger and fired two shots at the SUV as he passed it in a residential area of the township, according to court papers. Christner stopped short of describing the shooting as road rage because authorities did not have any evidence that Vadella acted aggressively before the shooting.

Police found the white Chevrolet Traverse parked outside Hairston’s home and learned just after noon Sunday that he had left in it and was headed to Interstate 70. Investigators apprehended him at the intersection of Route 906 and Interstate 70.

District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli praised the cooperation of police forces for the quick arrest.

“I cannot say enough about the tremendous focus, talent and cooperation displayed” by all three agencies, she said. “While this will not bring Holly Vadella home to her family, it is our sincere hope that it can bring some peace. We have worked tirelessly, and we will continue to do so to bring justice for her family.”

Vadella, who lived on Pawnee Drive in Fellsburg, had two adult sons, Christner said. Her family could not be reached for comment. She worked as a clerk-typist for the past 10 years in the Office of Academic Success at California University of Pennsylvania.

University spokeswoman Wendy Mackall said the community was heartbroken to learn of Vadella’s death and described her as a valued member of the staff. Christner said the department received many calls from her co-workers, who described Vadella as a friendly person who liked to chat with others on campus.

Theo is staying with Vadella’s mother, Dolores Coulson.

Hairston is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 24.

Police said Hairston’s license previously was suspended because of a drunken-driving offense and that he was prohibited from having a firearm because of a previous felony conviction.

He was sentenced in 2019 to four days to six months in jail and two years of probation in a 2017 drunken-driving case in Jefferson Borough, Allegheny County, according to online court records. He was sentenced in 2015 to five to 23 months in jail in a 2014 felony possession with intent to deliver case in Monessen.