The circumstances surrounding the murder of a prominent doctor’s son in Harrisville remain a mystery 35 years later, despite what appeared to be a lead in the case in 1996.

Timothy Edward Saloom, 28, died on a sectional couch in his childhood home in Harrisville on Feb. 4, 1991. He was found by his brother, Charles Saloom, four days later.

According to William F. Young Jr., Butler County coroner at the time, Saloom was shot once in the top of the head.

Charles Saloom went to check on his brother after another brother, Eric Saloom, expressed concern he had not heard from him several days, according to a Butler Eagle article at the time.

Young said there were no signs of a break-in at the home and no weapon at the scene. According to the article, Saloom may not have known his attacker was going to shoot him.

State police treated the death as suspicious, and the case remains open.

“I have no idea what happened,” Eric Saloom said in a Feb. 9, 1991, article.

Attempts to contact the trooper investigating the case, Lt. Francis Walton, for this article were unsuccessful.

On July 3, 1996, Butler police received a one-page, handwritten letter from an unknown person confessing to three murders. Butler police were not investigating any homicides at the time and sent the letter to state police.

The letter had a Pittsburgh postmark and stated the murderer “killed for no reason.” The writer expressed a desire to get psychiatric help, according to an article from July 13, 1997.

Police believed the letter expressed genuine guilt and included enough details matching three murders to look into it further.

Police were investigating eight murders in Butler County in 1997. They believed two of the murders described in the letter took place inside the county and one took place in a neighboring county.

“We’re taking the letter seriously,” Trooper Ray Melder of the state police criminal investigation unit said at the time.

The writer instructed police to hold a press conference where he would unveil his identity. A press conference was held, but the writer never appeared.

Saloom lived alone in his childhood home near the intersection of Eau Claire and Camp Ground roads. He had left his job at Joden Jewelers in Grove City, Mercer County, to care for his mother, Mary Manno, who died in September 1990.

Funeral arraignments were handled by Jamison Funeral Home in Harrisville, now Jamison-McKinley Funeral Home. Owner Holly McKinley said Saloom’s records were filed under the home’s previous ownership and his records from that time were lost.

Saloom’s father was Raymond J. Saloom Sr., a family physician with a practice in Harrisville. He was killed in a crash in 1985. The Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine have memorial awards in his name.

Timothy Saloom graduated from Grand River Academy in Ashtabula, Ohio, after graduating from Slippery Rock High School. He was a member of St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church in Forestville, an unincorporated municipality just south of Harrisville.

He was survived by four brothers: Raymond, Charles, Christopher and Eric. Attempts to reach them for this article were unsuccessful.

Timothy Saloom is buried with his mother and father in Prairie Cemetery in Harrisville.

This story was updated at 7:40 a.m. Feb. 26 to reflect Timothy Saloom was found by his brother Feb. 8, 1991.