Canonsburg man charged with homicide in fatal shooting at borough house
An unwanted overture asking to join an intimate moment with a couple during a gathering of friends at a Canonsburg home turned deadly when one of the men allegedly shot and killed the other before running from the scene.
Canonsburg police were called to 521 Giffin Ave. in the borough shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday and found 25-year-old Brady Hugh Paul covered in blood and dying from a gunshot wound to his torso, according to court documents.
Charged in his killing is 20-year-old Kristopher M. Moorehouse of Canonsburg, who claimed he fired in self-defense inside the house before Paul apparently made his way to the front porch, where he died from his wound.
“It was self-defense. I did not mean to kill him,” Moorehouse told reporters as he was led to his arraignment Monday afternoon. “He was trying to rape my girl.”
Police said numerous people were at the home Saturday night drinking alcohol, smoking mariajuana and playing video games when Paul apparently sent a text message to Moorehouse and his girlfriend – who were in a back bedroom – asking if he could “join them intimately,” according to court documents. A witness said Paul went back to the room but was rebuffed by Moorehouse, who told him to leave them alone, police said.
However, a witness said Paul apparently went back moments later and was confronted by Moorehouse, who picked up a handgun and said he was going to “spank him,” meaning shoot the victim, police wrote in court documents. Moorehouse then allegedly fired three shots at Paul – which were heard in a surveillance video – as his girlfriend remained in the bedroom during the shooting.
Police said Moorehouse then ran away from the house, and later asked his girlfriend to drive him to Parkersburg, W.Va., since he “had to get out of Canonsburg.” During the drive, he allegedly admitted to her that he shot Paul, according to court documents.
Canonsburg police reviewed surveillance video from the area and interviewed witnesses before filing an arrest warrant for Moorehouse charging him with felony homicide and aggravated assault, along with four counts of reckless endangerment. Moorehouse turned himself into Canonsburg police Monday, and he was arraigned later in the day by District Judge James Saieva Jr. before being taken to the Washington County jail without bond.
“We went from a ‘who-done-it’ to an arrest warrant,” Canonsburg police Chief Alexander Coghill said of the investigation.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said the suspect and victim knew each other, but he declined to elaborate on what precipitated the shooting. Both Moorehouse and Paul lived in Canonsburg and were visiting a friend’s house when the shooting occurred.
“They aren’t strangers,” Walsh said. “They knew each other.”
“There was a gathering of several people there,” Coghill added about the party happening at the house.
Walsh said the investigation is ongoing and declined to comment on whether anyone else will be charged.
“We’re happy we solved this homicide, and we’re sad that someone lost his life,” Walsh said.
Moorehouse’s preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 23 before Saieva.