3 members of family killed
MARIANNA — A man suspected of killing his wife and two young children in their rural Western Pennsylvania home was arrested after a daylong manhunt Thursday and charged in their deaths.
Orlando Maurice Guarino, 38, was charged with three counts of homicide after he was captured in Washington, Pa., at about 3 p.m., state police Capt. Sheldon Epstein said.
As he was led to his arraignment Thursday night, Guarino told reporters he didn't commit the murders. But he also said, "It could be me, man, You never know. I'm not going to play it out in the media ... Anything's possible, you know what I mean? You look at the circumstances, I mean, I would accuse me too."
The Guarinos had a history of abuse allegations against each other and had recently separated.
According to a police affidavit, Guarino had previously said that he would take out anyone who interfered with custody of his children, then "take the children out and kill himself."
Troopers caught Guarino after a foot chase and one of the troopers fired a shot, but it did not hit anyone, Epstein said.
The arrest ended a search in which authorities surrounded a motel and used electronic billboard messages on highways to ask motorists to look out for a white GMC pickup truck Guarino was believed to be driving. Helicopters also scoured the area.
The bodies of 22-year-old Ashley Guarino, her 2-year-old daughter Dreux and 11-month-old son Orlando Jr. were found by relatives at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. Ashley Guarino was found in a laundry room, Dreux was found upstairs and the baby was found dead in his crib, according to the affidavit.
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said it appeared they were asphyxiated, but didn't immediately say how. Warco ruled the deaths homicides, and said autopsies were pending.
Court documents showed the couple traded abuse allegations last month that resulted in a protection-from-abuse order against Orlando Guarino. Among her allegations, Ashley Guarino claimed her husband had held the boy out the window of a moving vehicle.
Orlando Guarino was unemployed and his wife was a waitress at the Moose Lodge in nearby Washington, according to court documents.
Danielle Ehrhardt, a neighbor who baby-sat for the couple's children, said Orlando Guarino did make some money cutting grass.
"Anytime they talked to us, they were really happy," said Ehrhardt, 18.
The husband "was always real pleasant, especially with his kids." But she said the couple had recently been in a dispute involving the care of the children.
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