COLLIER TWP, Allegheny County — A former neighbor of a U.S. Postal Service worker has been indicted on a murder charge after he told authorities he thought the mail carrier had poisoned him and his family with cyanide, federal prosecutors said.

Eric Kortz, 53, is charged with murder of a U.S. employee and firing a gun during a crime of violence in the indictment handed up Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Western Pennsylvania. He remains jailed and could face a life sentence if convicted.

The shooting occurred Oct. 7 as Louis Vignone was on his mail route in Collier Township.

Kortz is being represented by the public defender’s office in Pittsburgh.

By Associated Press