Investigators try unraveling mystery
ADAMS TWP — An unknown killer — or killers — wanted Tara S. Bouie dead.
“It appears to be an execution-style shooting,” state police Lt. Eric Hermick said Monday.
There was no immediate sign of robbery. And the method of the killing, police said, seemed to discount the possibility that it was a crime of passion.
Still without an arrest, investigators continue piecing together leads while trying to unravel the motive behind Bouie's slaying last week in her rental home in a rural section of Adams Township.
Police said they have no suspects but acknowledged that a key focus of the investigation is whether the 42-year-old Bouie was shot because her boyfriend is jailed on charges he fatally shot one man and wounded several others, all members of a Pittsburgh motorcycle club.
“Retaliation is one of the theories that's being looked at,” Hermick admitted.
A relative discovered Bouie's body about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday after going to the victim's house on Tenacity Trail to check on her. That relative, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, immediately called 911.
Township police found Bouie lying face down in a large pool of blood, authorities said. She appeared to have a large caliber entrance wound to the right side of her head.
Police recovered a slug near the body, but it was so damaged that investigators could not immediately determine the caliber.
Next to Bouie was her 5-month-old daughter, unharmed and in a child seat.
The seat belt was “tied in a knot instead of being buckled,” according to a police report, suggesting the child “was tied into the seat so she could not get out.”
Investigators believe the baby was at the home when her mother was shot. The girl may have been alone with her dead mother for as many as 24 hours.
The father of the child, 41-year-old Kenneth Harrison, was arrested at Bouie's house in September. He is in the Allegheny County Jail without bail on a charge of homicide and five counts of attempted homicide.Harrison, who is listed with a Penn Hills address in court records, is tied to the summer shooting in Pittsburgh's Strip District that left one dead and five others wounded.The incident unfolded shortly after 1 a.m. Aug. 2 outside a bar where Harrison got into an altercation with members of the Pittsburgh Gentlemen Motorcycle Club.Pittsburgh police said he apparently was angry over the noise made by the club members' motorcycles and because the parked bikes blocked the sidewalk.A bystander told authorities that a man, later identified as Harrison, argued with the others. During the argument, according to court documents, someone said, “We are from the North Side, we kill.”Two witnesses at an Oct. 24 preliminary hearing testified that Harrison later got into the driver's seat of a black Chevrolet Tahoe from which several gunshots were fired.But the witnesses admitted they did not see Harrison fire a weapon. They also claimed they saw additional shots fired from another car and from another gunman on foot.Several hours after the shooting, police found the abandoned Chevy Tahoe in Pittsburgh's Hill District.While prosecutors concede they can't prove Harrison fired a gun that night, they argue that he is criminally liable nonetheless because he was the “getaway driver.”Harrison's attorney, Ralph Karsh of Pittsburgh, did not immediately return a telephone call Monday.Hermick said state police are trying to determine Bouie's whereabouts the night of the Aug. 2 shooting. He said it was not known if she was with Harrison or what she might have known about the shooting.Pittsburgh police said they're cooperating with the state police investigation of Bouie's death.“(Harrison) has been interviewed, and we're pulling the phone records from the jail,” Hermick said.He added that while investigators don't know if Bouie's slaying was a case of retaliation, that angle is being pressed.Police also are scouring Bouie's cell phones for clues.Hermick said Bouie was talking on her phone with a family member the night of Oct. 28 — the last time she was reportedly heard from.The family member told investigators that Bouie seemed normal and conveyed no problems.But 24 hours later, she was found dead in the house that she had moved into in September. She was the only tenant on the lease, according to one of the homeowners, who declined further comment.The relative who discovered Bouie's body told police the front door was unlocked when he got to the house.Hermick said there was no sign of forced entry. The house was not ransacked and nothing appeared to be missing. Money and cell phones were found.Bouie had no other injuries to suggest she put up a fight with her killer or killers.Investigators declined to say if Bouie was shot more than once.Police said they found no guns at the home. They also found no drugs or other evidence of any suspected criminal activity.Bouie's neighbors told police they did not hear any gunfire or see anything suspicious.Police continue to interview those who knew Bouie and Harrison in hopes of uncovering leads.Additionally, they are awaiting the results of a range of scientific tests, including ballistics, fingerprint and forensic analysis of trace evidence.Hermick added that investigators met Monday with representatives of the county district attorney's office for “prosecutorial guidance” in their investigation.
