Dad kills ex-wife, himself
BUFFALO TWP — A divorced father who was supposed to be returning his two daughters to their mother at her home Thursday morning instead came with a gun which he used to kill his ex-wife before killing himself, police said.
According to Sgt. Rick Healey with the Buffalo Township Police Department, Todd Negley, 44, shot Lee Ann Negley, 43, multiple times with a 9 mm gun about 6 a.m. Thursday.
The woman was shot in the basement family room of her home at 137 Heathfield Drive in Chesterfield Estate. Todd Negley then shot himself once, according to Butler deputy coroner John Hanovick.
Hanovick this morning said autopsies showed that Lee Ann Negley died of a gunshot wound to the chest and Todd Negley died of a gunshot wound to his head.
The mother of Lee Ann Negley found the two after she arrived at the home about 9:45 a.m., Healey said. Both were pronounced dead by 10:45 a.m., shortly after Hanovick arrived on the scene.
The two divorced in September 2015.
The divorce proceedings, which were initiated by Todd Negley on June 8, 2015, included issues of abuse and child custody, according to the prothonotary’s office.
Healey said Todd Negley showed up at the house under the guise of returning their children, two daughters, back to Lee Ann Negley, but the children were not with him. Todd Negley also had one other child.
“We believe he was the aggressor only because of the injuries to the woman,” Healey said. “He just went off the deep end because she was going to start dating again. We weren’t surprised.”
Todd Negley also had two Protection From Abuse Orders filed against him from Lee Ann Negley, and they both were dismissed. One was dismissed in June of 2015, and a second that was filed in January was dismissed later that month.
Lee Ann Negley was a teacher at South Buffalo Elementary School in the Freeport School District.
District Superintendent Ian Magness released this statement:
“Our Freeport area family is devastated by the horrific news of the passing of our beloved colleague. Our genuine prayers are with the family, most especially the children,” he said.
“As we begin our new school year and welcome back our staff and students in the coming weeks, our district will be providing supports for our employees, students and families to ensure that our school community’s emotional and other needs are met as we grieve.”
Todd Negley worked for TUDI Mechanical Systems of McKees Rocks as a commercial services technician. A supervisor at TUDI said that out of respect for the families, the company did not wish to comment.
Healey said the investigation is still open.
Eagle staff writers Aaron McKrell and Phillip Rau contributed to this report.
