The police investigation into a stabbing and fatal shooting in Butler three weeks ago has been turned over to the district attorney's office.

City police said they offered no recommendation concerning charges in the case that left Adam Selfridge, 37, of Butler dead and Raymond A. Covelli, 35, of Butler hospitalized.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger will decide whether to file charges in the case. He did not return telephone calls Tuesday and Wednesday.

Court documents, meanwhile, have revealed new details about the violent clash between the two men Nov. 9 in an alley just a short walk from Selfridge's home on the 400 block of West Cunningham Street.

Among the revelations was what police described as an “unsolicited statement” by Covelli in which he admitting shooting Selfridge apparently in self-defense.

He claimed he “shot the victim on Wagner Avenue because said victim stabbed him,” according to an affidavit that police filed to obtain a search warrant during the investigation.

Police said Selfridge was fatally shot near the corner of West Cunningham Street and Wagner Avenue after he apparently stabbed another man about 1:25 a.m.

Selfridge was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy later determined he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Investigators found a pocket knife near his body, which was in the middle of Wagner Avenue.

A 911 call about 10 minutes after the shooting reported a man had been stabbed.

Documents disclosed that officers were dispatched to Covelli's home on Zeigler Avenue — about a mile from the scene of the shooting.

“(His) fiancée stated he arrived at their residence shortly after a phone call stating he was stabbed,” according to those documents.

Investigators did not immediately know how Covelli got back to his home so quickly after suffering a stab wound.

But the search warrant — for Covelli's rental car — apparently cleared up that question.

Police in the application for the warrant, obtained just hours after the stabbing and shooting, noted that Covelli was seen getting out of the car, a Nissan Altima with New York license plates that was parked outside his home.

“Upon looking into the vehicle,” documents said, “officers observed what appeared to be fresh blood on the passenger seat.”

Investigators would not say if they believe someone drove Covelli back to his home that night, and Butler Police Chief Bob O'Neill did not return a call Wednesday.

Police have remained tight-lipped about their findings but acknowledged that Covelli has cooperated in the investigation.

According to the search warrant inventory, police seized from the rental car a Kyocera flip phone, blood evidence and a lift of latent fingerprints.

Authorities said they believe the stabbing and shooting followed a chance encounter between Selfridge and Covelli.

A short time earlier, Selfridge had walked to a nearby convenience store. On his way home, he accidentally dropped his cell phone and couldn't find it, a family member told the Butler Eagle.

Selfridge got a flashlight from his home and looked for the phone. His wife joined him in the search.

At some point, his path and Covelli's crossed and they exchanged words.

At least five shots were fired. Authorities said the gun was later recovered.

While police have forwarded their investigation to the district attorney, they noted that they are still awaiting forensic test results of unspecified evidence from the state police crime lab.