:furious: Police link suitcase with missing woman
Bill Vidonic, Times Staff
08/10/2006
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. - Property belonging to the sister of a West Virginia woman missing
since May was found in a New Sewickley Township home in June, according to the Pennsylvania
State Police.
John M. Deutsch, 29, of 1130 Hillman St. was charged Wednesday with a single count
of receiving stolen property.
According to state police, troopers began looking into the May 25 disappearance
of Kelly Jo Elliott, 28, of Ohio County, W.Va. Elliott was last seen with Eugene
J. Talik Jr. of Aleppo Township.
In June, Ohio County Sheriff Tom Burgoyne identified Talik, 37, as Elliott's
boyfriend, and said he had been questioned about her disappearance.
Talik and Deutsch are friends, state police said. On June 28, state police and an
Ohio County police officer went to Deutsch's home to interview his brother,
James Deutsch, 28, and his live-in-girlfriend, Kelly M. Neely, 29.
James Deutsch and Neely said that just after Memorial Day, Talik brought a moving
van for John Deutsch to work on at the New Sewickley house, state police said.
While there, Talik gave John Deutsch a green suitcase filled with tools including
a drill and power saw, and a woman's gold watch, three bracelets and necklace.
John Deutsch initially put the suitcase inside his home, state police said, but
moved it to a shed on the property after his brother found it and told him to remove
it from the home.
State police recovered the suitcase the day of the interview; the items inside it
were photographed and shown to members of Elliott's family. Family members,
state police said, identified the items as belonging to Elliott's sister, Jodi
Sine of Triadelphia, W.Va., in Ohio County, and said the items were stolen from
her home between May 17 and 25, while she was on vacation.
The investigation into Elliott's disappearance already has been connected to
New Sewickley. The day after Elliott disappeared, her vehicle was found at Crows
Run Auto Recycling along Crows Run Road with its license plate missing.
Elliott hadn't yet been reported missing, so township police didn't treat
the find as unusual. But five days after the car showed up at the business, it vanished,
and police haven't been able to find it.
The FBI in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, along with various police agencies, are
continuing to investigate Elliott's disappearance.
John Deutsch was sent to the Beaver County Jail Wednesday after failing to post
$25,000 bond set by District Judge Edward Howe.
James Deutsch is also in the county jail, awaiting trial on charges of criminal
attempt to commit homicide and aggravated assault. Hopewell Township police said
he tried to run down a woman with his pickup on July 5 after he beat her. That case
is unrelated to the charge Wednesday against John Deutsch.
Neely was charged last week with trying to hide James Deutsch from police when they
went to the New Sewickley home on July 19 to arrest him in the Hopewell incident.
Bill Vidonic can be reached online at
bvidonic@timesonline.com.
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