Robbery suspect apparent suicide victim
CLAY TWP — One of two suspected robbers who state police believe brutally beat an elderly man during a home invasion last month in Clay Township will never face charges.
That's because he died Dec. 28.
Authorities suspect Michael E. Karch, 38, of Butler committed suicide almost four weeks after the Dec. 2 robbery and theft of 11 handguns from the house on Euclid Road.
He was never arrested or charged in the crime that left the homeowner, 74-year-old Robert Patterson, hospitalized with severe injuries.
The manhunt, meanwhile, goes on for the other alleged robber, who has not been identified, according to investigators.
Two other defendants — Brandon S. Wissinger, 28, of Winfield Township and Janet N. Greiner, 29, of Parker Township — are headed for trial for their alleged roles in the home invasion.
Greiner was ordered held for court Tuesday at her preliminary hearing in Chicora. Wissinger earlier that day waived his own hearing.
Police said Greiner drove the two alleged robbers to Patterson's house while Wissinger accompanied her there.
The pair was arrested Jan. 8 on felony charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit the crimes of burglary, robbery, theft and aggravated assault.
They also are charged with conspiracy to commit simple assault. Wissinger and Greiner remain in the Butler County Prison on $250,000 bail and $100,000 bail, respectively.
A relative discovered Patterson about 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at the victim's home, Trooper Jessica Titler, the investigating officer, testified at the hearing.She spoke to him before a medical helicopter flew him to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of serious injuries.He suffered a broken nose, two dislocated shoulders, a fractured ankle and several cuts on his head that required stitches.Patterson told the trooper that he answered a knock at the door about 6 a.m. Two men appeared and forced their way inside. He did not recognize them.He described them as white and in their 20s or 30s. Both were armed — one with a handgun and the other with a knife.The men beat him and ransacked the house, taking a cache of guns and possibly the victim's prescription medication.Titler said a search of the house turned up evidence consistent with Patterson's account.“There was a lot of blood within the main entry,” she testified.A large gun safe had been opened and emptied. Drawers in the bedroom were overturned and items removed. Police suspect jewelry, including an engagement ring, also was stolen from the house.Patterson told Titler that before the robbers left, they made a call “for a ride” from the house.They tied up the battered victim with an extension cord, according to court documents, and left. Patterson would not be found for about 12 hours.He is still recovering from his injuries, Titler said, and is being treated at an undisclosed rehabilitation facility.During the investigation, she testified, an informant Jan. 4 showed up at the barracks and identified Greiner, Karch and a 34-year-old man, who police did not identify, as being involved in the crime.Greiner the next day voluntarily came in for an interview. She waived her Miranda warnings and spoke to police.She said about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 2 she got a call from Karch, who asked for a ride, according to Titler's testimony. Greiner had Wissinger with her when she picked him up in a relative's pickup truck.Karch was with another man, she recounted, who she did not know.“(Karch) instructed her to drive to a residence off Route 8,” Titler testified.Greiner parked on the side of the road and Karch and the unknown man got out. They were gone a short time.Karch eventually called her to come pick them up. He had blood on him when she saw him again. The two men had a backpack full of guns.“The other male had said they had to basically use force to remove guns from the residence,” Titler testified, referring to Greiner's account.
She drove the men to a home in Butler where they showered and changed clothes. She eventually took the men to a house in the Sarver area. They allegedly gave Wissinger two guns.According to Greiner, she drove Wissinger to New Kensington, Westmoreland County, where he allegedly traded the guns for drugs.Following testimony, Greiner's attorney, public defender Ryan Helsel, asked District Judge Lewis Stoughton to dismiss the charges.He said there was “no evidence presented that (Greiner) participated in the actual robbery or knew about the robbery ahead of time.” It also was not shown, he said, that she was involved in the trade of guns for drugs.But prosecutor Terri Schultz, an assistant district attorney, argued the charges should stand since Greiner “did nothing to relinquish being involved in this.”Schultz said the defendant “could have distanced herself from this” after the robbers came out of the victim's house with blood on them and with guns, but she did not.During Titler's testimony, she disclosed that Karch is deceased.According to a search warrant application police filed in the investigation, Karch committed suicide Dec. 28 at the Super 8 motel.Butler Township police investigated but they declined to discuss details.
