Killing of 10-year-old Washington girl is top local story of the year
It was an eventful 2014 in Washington County, with stories of tragedy and intrigue taking the forefront.
The editorial staff of the Observer-Reporter sorted through the headlines in making its choices for the Top 10 stories of the year, and voted the top story to be the tragic shooting death of 10-year-old Ta’Niyah Thomas during an invasion of her family’s Washington apartment. Four men were charged in her murder.
Another tragic city death also made the Top 10, but for a different reason. The three men charged with the death of Washington & Jefferson College football player Timothy McNerney in 2012 were found guilty of third-degree murder and sentenced to prison. McNerney died after he was assaulted and robbed while walking to campus. He suffered an injury to the back of his head when he was knocked to the ground.
Washington County President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca was relieved of her administrative duties, and Senior Judge Joseph M. James, a former president judge in Allegheny County, was appointed as interim administrative judge. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts was tight-lipped about the reason for the move, but less than a week later the other five Washington County judges revealed they asked the AOPC for assistance because of their longstanding concerns over O’Dell Seneca’s administrative and managerial decisions. She remains on the bench, carrying a full caseload.
Two Democratic legislators lost their seats in the November election after expensive and nasty re-election campaigns. State Sen. Tim Solobay and Rep. Jesse White were defeated by Republican challengers. It was discovered in 2013 that White had assumed false online personas to attack his critics. And in the closing weeks of the campaign, some Republicans received a blog post asking questions about an unsolved 2011 murder and linked Solobay to the investigation. Unsealed search warrants in the shooting death of James Leroy Durbin included the assertion by police that Solobay was involved in an “ongoing relationship” with Durbin’s wife. Solobay denied being anything other than an acquaintance, and he is not a person of interest in the homicide.