Prosecutors say the investigation connected a body near West Kerr Street to a fatal dispute inside a Crow Avenue house.
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A body found near railroad tracks on Easter led investigators to a Uniontown home, where prosecutors say signs of blood helped build a homicide case against two people who lived with the victim.
The case against Terry Newland, 58, and Alysha Riggans, 30, rests on a trail that authorities say moved from West Kerr Street to Ralph Brown’s home on Crow Avenue and then to his bank accounts. Brown, 71, was found dead Sunday, April 5. Within a day, both defendants were charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
The first public scene in the case was not a house but a strip of ground near an active railway. Pennsylvania State Police were called to the West Kerr Street area after Brown’s body was discovered. The Fayette County District Attorney’s Office later said the body had been wrapped in a blanket and left near the tracks. District Attorney Michael Aubele said investigators soon identified Brown and began checking where he lived and who had access to him. That path took police to 11 Crow Avenue, described in local reports as Brown’s rental home. Aubele said investigators encountered Newland and Riggans there. “As soon as we walked into the house, we noticed items of forensic value, including potential blood,” he said.
What police saw inside the home became a key turn in the investigation. Prosecutors say Brown had lived with Newland and Riggans, but the arrangement had become a conflict. Aubele said the pair first took a room for a short time, then remained for months after Brown wanted them gone. He said they changed their address in a way that made it hard for Brown to remove them. The district attorney described them as people who had overstayed their welcome, while charging documents and public statements focused on a fight over money shortly before Brown died. Authorities have not said whether there were prior police calls to the house or any earlier eviction effort.
The most direct account released publicly came from Riggans, according to police details reported by local outlets. She allegedly told investigators that Brown returned home Wednesday, April 1, and that she saw Newland stab him in the neck with a knife. She also said Newland beat Brown in the head with a table, authorities said. Riggans further told police that she and Newland tied a bag around Brown’s head, wrapped his feet with cords and kept his body in the basement for two days. Prosecutors have not publicly released a full transcript of her statement, and it was not clear from public reports whether Newland made any statement to investigators.
The alleged movement of the body gave investigators a second crime scene. Authorities said Brown’s body was taken from the basement and left by the railway around 4 a.m. Saturday, April 4. It was found the next day. The delay described by investigators allowed prosecutors to add abuse-of-corpse and tampering counts, alleging the defendants concealed or altered evidence after the killing. Aubele called the case “very, very callous, cold and calculated.” The DA’s office has not publicly released surveillance video, vehicle information or witness statements showing how the body was moved. Those details may emerge if the case advances through a preliminary hearing and later filings.
Financial evidence also became part of the case. Prosecutors say Riggans took cash from Brown while his body was in the basement and used his debit card to spend more than $600. Reports also said investigators determined money had been taken from Brown’s bank accounts. Riggans faces charges tied to theft and access-device use, in addition to the homicide-related counts that both defendants face. The DA’s office has not released a final total for the alleged theft or named the places where the card was used. The financial allegations matter because prosecutors say they show a motive tied to money and conduct after Brown was already dead.
Brown was 71, and prosecutors said he had allowed Newland and Riggans to stay in his home before the situation changed. The case has drawn attention in Fayette County because the person killed was not merely a landlord or distant acquaintance, according to authorities, but a man who shared living space with the defendants. Aubele said investigators and community members described Brown as a beloved person. “We will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. Those comments came as prosecutors announced that both defendants had been taken into custody and held at the Fayette County Jail.
The legal path began quickly. Newland and Riggans were arraigned early Monday, April 6, after the Sunday discovery of Brown’s body. Both were denied bond. The denial reflected the severity of the homicide charges, though it does not decide guilt. Public reports said a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday, April 20, before Magisterial District Judge Jennifer L. Jeffries. At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors normally present enough evidence to show probable cause that crimes occurred and that the defendants should face further proceedings. A full trial, if the case reaches that point, would come later.
Authorities have released only part of the evidence. The final cause and manner details from an autopsy were not made public in the early reports, though prosecutors described stabbing and beating allegations. The DA’s office has not publicly listed all forensic items taken from the home. It also has not said whether the knife, table or cords described in the allegations were recovered. The absence of those details leaves parts of the evidence picture incomplete, but prosecutors have said enough was found to charge both defendants within about 24 hours of Brown’s body being discovered.
Newland and Riggans are presumed innocent unless proved guilty. The charges place both defendants in the same alleged conspiracy, though Riggans also faces separate theft-related counts. Prosecutors have not publicly described a defense theory, and no attorney statements were available in the reports reviewed. The next court step is expected to test whether the state can move the case beyond the first phase. For now, the official account describes a home dispute, an alleged killing, a body left by railroad tracks and financial activity tied to the victim’s money.
For now, the case remained in Fayette County’s criminal court process. Brown’s death is being prosecuted as a homicide, and the public record still awaits fuller answers on forensic findings, defense responses and the next scheduled court action.
Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.