Pittsburgh police said a man fatally beat his girlfriend with an aluminum bat and then killed himself early New Year's Day.

Police said the mother of 38-year-old William Murray called 911 from her home in the city's Beechview neighborhood around 12:30 a.m. Friday and said her son was beating his girlfriend with a bat.

Investigators found the body of 29-year-old Lillainya Rachko in the basement.

Police said Murray's mother told them he had cut himself with a knife before driving off.

Officers then went to the borough of Baldwin and surrounded Murray's house. After forcing their way inside, they found him dead from a self-inflicted knife wound.

Police said the couple had been drinking, but there is no word on a possible motive.

It was a novel year for Pittsburgh and other parts of Western Pennsylvania.No fewer than 25 novels published in 2009 were based wholly or partially in the region.John Grisham's novel, "The Associate," spends time at Duquesne University."American Rust" by Philipp Meyer is set in the fictional Mon Valley mill town of Buell, Fayette County.The valley also is the locale for Keith Donohue's fantasy, "Angels of Destruction.""Allegheny Hopes" by Janice A. Thompson stars Brianna, a Pittsburgh woman who hates football but falls for a young quarterback.And Sue Corbett published a children's book about the region, "The Last Newspaper Boy in America."

The Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh reopened after being shut down for several hours because of technical problems.The Port Authority of Allegheny County said the incline was closed about 9 a.m. Sunday. The problem was resolved, and the incline reopened around noon.Officials said a computer problem might be to blame.