SLIPPERY ROCK — Homicide charges were held against a Muddy Creek Township homicide suspect after a nearly five-hour long preliminary hearing Wednesday.

District Judge Joseph Nash heard testimony from six witnesses before holding the charges and denying bond for Daniel C. Lloyd, 20, of Pitcairn.

Lloyd was charged in June with two counts of felony homicide in relation to the death of Frederick Orr, 32, of Columbus.

Orr’s body was found around 3:30 a.m. June 11 along Kelly Road, which spans a little less than 2 miles between East Portersville and Yellow Creek roads. Butler County Coroner William Young III later confirmed Orr died from a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

At the Wednesday hearing, Officer Jennifer Cantella, state police criminal investigator, recalled arriving at the scene on Kelly Road at 4:47 a.m. when Orr had been already identified by state troopers.

Trooper Casey Fuller later confirmed this during testimony, saying he and his partner stopped Nicole Schwartz, who is also charged with two counts of homicide related to Orr’s death, for expired registration at 1:33 a.m. on Route 422 near Fairground Market, a few miles from Kelly Road.

“They encountered him on a traffic stop earlier that morning, for a white Kia Seltos with (Schwartz) as the operator and with Orr as the passenger,” Cantella said.

According to charging documents, Schwartz, 36, of Ellwood City, was dating Orr in early 2022 before he went to jail. While Orr was in jail, she started seeing another man named “K.”

During the preliminary hearing Wednesday, multiple witnesses said “K” and “Kid” were names used to refer to Lloyd.

In charging documents, police said Schwartz picked up Orr from jail June 10. She later told police Lloyd hid underneath a blanket in the trunk area of the vehicle.

Fuller said no search was conducted on the vehicle. Schwartz was allowed to leave the traffic stop with a warning at 1:42 a.m.

“The rear back window was dark; I couldn’t see into the trunk due to the tint. There was no one in the back seat,” he said.

Following the traffic stop, Fuller and his partner responded to a wellness check at 3:31 a.m. for a male on Kelly Road.

“The male on the road was (Orr), who was in the front passenger seat,” he said.

Cantella said after canvassing the crime scene, two shell casings for bullets, broken glass, and part of a vehicle’s side mirror were found.

The side mirror was linked via part number to a Kia vehicle, Cantella said.

A later autopsy of Orr showed there were three gun shot wounds on his body: two in the back, one to the back of the head. Cantella said the report concluded the bullet to the back of the head had exited the front of Orr’s head. Assistant district attorney Benjamin Simon submitted photos from the crime scene and autopsy as evidence for the court.

In charging documents, police said Schwartz reported stopping along Kelly Road, and Lloyd forced Orr out at gunpoint, then shot him along the road.

A search warrant was executed June 11 for Schwartz’s home in Ellwood City. Cantella said the garage windows were covered in cardboard, and Schwartz’s white Kia was found inside.

“The front passenger window was missing, the front passenger mirror was missing. There was a strong odor of bleach and a shell casing in the back of the vehicle,” she said.

Another photo was presented to the court depicting what Cantella said was a bullet hole and a bullet slug in the front passenger side door.

Inside Schwartz’s home, a garbage can held a blanket and a side mirror that appears to have been shot out, according to Cantella.

Simon later questioned witness Tomika Cottrill, who said she was with Schwartz’s brother Dakota Hinchberger on June 10.

During Cotrill’s testimony, she said Schwartz asked her and Dakota to babysit her daughter around midnight June 10. The group, including Lloyd, met at Longhorn Corral, a motel and restaurant on Route 422, according to Cotrill.

Cotrill said she spoke with Schwartz in the room while Lloyd and Dakota spoke in the bathroom for about 15 minutes.

“I stripped off the blanket on the bed. I knew drug activity and sex goes on in those kinds of rooms in motels. I didn’t want her daughter (sleeping) on it,” she said.

Cotrill said she didn’t know what happened to the blanket.

“That night when I went to cover myself up, I was cold; I couldn’t find the blanket. I never saw anyone remove it,” she said.

Cantella said the blanket, later found in Schwartz’s home trash can, is believed to be the same blanket from Longhorn Corral.

Schwartz later contacted Cotrill and asked her to babysit her child until the night of June 11, Cotrill said. Cotrill and Dakota drove to Pittsburgh to meet with Schwartz, and Cotrill identified Lloyd being there as well.

In an interview with Schwartz on June 24, Schwartz told police that while Orr was incarcerated, she used his drugs, had spent $3,000, and was frightened of him finding out.

This testimony was echoed by the fourth witness, Kayla Lutz, the girlfriend of Dylan Hinchberger, who is also Schwartz’s brother.

“(Schwartz) told me (Lloyd) gave her a gun for protection,” she said. “I said, ‘Good thing you have your protection there if (Orr) shows up at your house.’”

In later testimony, Dylan told the court that Schwartz and Lloyd showed up at his home at 2:30 a.m. June 11, after taking Schwartz’s daughter to Longhorn Corral.

“I didn’t think she was going to be back that night,” he said.

Dylan said Schwartz asked for his help in hiding her car in the garage in case Orr showed up.

“We cleaned the garage out; it was full of crap. Kid helped clean out the garage and put cardboard on the windows,” he said. “(The car) smelled like bleach, and there was a mirror missing. It was gone; glass was gone.”

Max DeLuca, a criminal investigator with the state police, said a canvass of the Kelly Road neighborhood uncovered a resident a quarter mile away from the scene who heard gunshots June 11.

That resident provided police with camera footage from 1:50 a.m. June 11, which was played in court. The camera’s audio picked up six distinct gun shots at that time.

“From the traffic stop conducted by Fuller, it’s 5 to 6 miles to Kelly Road, a driving time of nine minutes via Google Maps,” he said.

He added that search warrants were granted for Schwartz and Lloyd’s phone records. They indicate Lloyd powered off his phone at 9 p.m. June 10 and turned it back on at 2:25 a.m. June 11 at Schwartz’s residence. Schwartz turned her phone off at 1:19 a.m. and never turned it back on.

DeLuca said he also obtained video surveillance at Longhorn Corral, where Schwartz’s vehicle was spotted.

“It appears someone went in the back of the vehicle,” he said. “It’s hard to see, but we see the hatch in the back of the vehicle put up, and when the hatch comes back down, one person returns.”

During closing arguments, defense attorney, Angela R. Carsia asked for dismissal of all charges.

“There’s no evidence (Lloyd) was at the homicide, no evidence he was with a gun or shooting at the crime scene. Him being in the county of Butler is what they have,” she said. “This is all based on evidence from a co-defendant who obviously has interest in this case. Being in the area is not enough evidence.”

Nash said the commonwealth had “met its burden” and held all charges for the Court of Common Pleas.

Nash also denied Carsia’s request for Lloyd to be placed under bond, after Simon indicated he had a criminal history of assault, carrying a gun without a license and a pending case of theft.

Lloyd will remain in Butler County Prison until his next court date. Schwartz also remains in jail.