KOPPEL, PA – A 19-year-old Pennsylvania man stands accused of sending shockingly violent notes to a neighbor, prompting local authorities to describe him as a “potential serial killer.”
Authorities arrested Dylan Bish on March 13 after an investigation by Koppel Borough Police into claims by a woman living nearby. The woman had reported receiving disturbing handwritten messages that allegedly revealed Bish’s violent fantasies.
According to police, one of the notes purportedly penned by Bish graphically expressed a desire to dismember the woman with a chainsaw and fulfill dark sexual fantasies. Bish also allegedly claimed to have already killed 20 women, identifying the recipient as his next target.
The arresting officers detailed how Bish, upon questioning, appeared to be fixated on the victim and openly admitted he wouldn’t cease his obsession unless she was dead. He reportedly went so far as to describe in chilling detail how he planned to carry out the gruesome act come summer.
During a police interrogation, Bish allegedly revealed he was pursuing studies in criminal justice and forensic science, aiming to understand law enforcement tactics well enough to elude capture successfully.
The initial note from Bish, according to authorities, surfaced in November 2024. This first contact was reportedly less graphic but included a name and a number, later linked to Bish, urging the woman to reach out. Alarmed by this message, the woman reached out to the police.
A subsequent note was significantly more graphic and was left at her door. Court documents noted it included language about dismemberment and cannibalism. The writer allegedly admitted to surveilling the woman’s apartment, alluding to her interior décor in a note.
The investigation intensified after local police, following a text sent to the woman’s number containing graphic threats, worked with Beaver County detectives. The message detailed a desire to harm her and was accompanied by a video of a violent nature.
Authorities used the phone data, email, and IP addresses, which eventually led them to Bish. He later confessed to authoring the notes, though he asserted that claims of having killed women were untrue. Bish expressed feeling lonely and hoped to form a relationship, albeit a friendship, with the woman.
Police credited the swift identification and arrest as pivotal in potentially preventing the emergence of a serial killer, citing vivid homicidal inclinations confessed by Bish during questioning.
Currently, Bish remains in custody at Beaver County Jail on a $1 million bond. The court has mandated a mental health evaluation before any potential release. He faces charges including stalking, making terroristic threats, and harassment, with a preliminary hearing arranged for March 28.