This week, authorities in Pennsylvania charged a man with the murder of a woman, after he allegedly attempted to disguise her death as a suicide.

Chase Steigerwald, age 34, was formally charged on Tuesday in connection with the death of 45-year-old Rachel Roman, which occurred on November 5, according to ExploreJefferson.

Police officers responded to Steigerwald’s residence in Clarion shortly after 7 a.m. that day, discovering Roman deceased on the floor with a neck wound and a considerable amount of blood surrounding her. A knife was found nearby.

Steigerwald claimed to the police that he and another woman, referred to as Witness #1, left for a walk and returned to find Roman’s lifeless body. He mentioned that the knife belonged to him and was typically used for hunting.

However, the witness later withdrew her initial statement, revealing that she was actually present in the apartment during the incident. She reported hearing “gurgling/choking noises from the living room” and saw Roman dead on the floor. According to a criminal complaint, Steigerwald was packing a backpack and insisted they “needed to leave.”

The witness described trying to avoid blood on the floor as she left the apartment with the killer. While they walked around the borough, Steigerwald told the witness he would make the murder “look like a suicide.”

When they got back to the apartment, the witness said, Steigerwald picked up the knife that was lying near Roman’s body and “put the knife on the [the victim’s] hand,” apparently trying to transfer he fingerprints to it. He also tossed a container of methamphetamine onto the couch where Roman had been sitting. The bag was later found by officers searching the apartment.

Officers also found blood residue on the kitchen and bathroom sink, and Steigerwald later admitted to smoking ecstasy and rinsing “his hands in the kitchen sink” before calling 911.

Investigators interviewed another witness who reported seeing Roman alive at the apartment around 11 p.m. the night before, and neighbor who heard “partying” at the apartment until around midnight, when it became “very quiet.” A fourth witness reported a FaceTime call with Steigerwald around 11 p.m. in which he displayed a long gun and a knife before leaving the room. After that, with the call still on, she said she heard arguing between him and Roman.

Further, data from Roman’s phone showed that she sent a text to a co-worker at about 11:39 p.m. The co-worker replied at 12:30 a.m., but the text was not delivered, indicating the phone was powered off. When police found Roman’s phone, it was, in fact, powered down but still had a charge.

An autopsy determined that Roman died from multiple sharp force injuries to the neck.

Steigerwald was initially arrested on drug charges but those charges were later dismissed when he was charged with murder.

He was denied bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled on December 2.