South Carolina man arrested in Rostraver homicide
Police arrested a man from South Carolina after a woman was shot and killed in Rostraver Township Wednesday night.
According to a press release from the office of Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, Rostraver Township police and county detectives were called just before 11 p.m. to a home in the 900 block of Route 136.
Investigators found Robert Chaplin, 34, of Hollywood, S.C., in the driveway. Rostraver police charged Chaplin with a felony of criminal homicide.
According to the release, in the basement was 35-year-old Estela Rivera Vasquez, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. She was transported to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.
According to the release, investigators found several shell casings and a firearm in the basement near Vasquez.
Chaplin was Vasquez’s live-in boyfriend, according to the release. There were also three children living in the home, one of whom made the call to 911. They were not injured and are staying with family.
Chaplin was arraigned Thursday morning before Magisterial District Judge John Christner, who sent him to the Westmoreland County jail without bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. March 3.