Share and Follow
A man from Pennsylvania faces murder charges after he forced his way into his estranged wife’s residence and fatally shot a firefighter who was having dinner with her.
Robert Naugle Jr., aged 30, stands accused of criminal homicide for the New Year’s Eve killing of 47-year-old James Thomas, as reported by WPXI.
According to court records, Naugle stormed into the home, bypassed a crib where his child was sleeping, and proceeded to fire ten rounds at Thomas. Afterwards, he contacted 911, admitting to the dispatcher, “I walked in on my wife with another man, and I killed him.”
“In mere moments, (Naugle) discharged a handgun at someone he had never spoken to and did not recognize,” stated Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani, as reported by TribLive. “He had no idea who this person was, just witnessed another individual in the house and began shooting.”
The police report indicates that Naugle initiated divorce proceedings in November and vacated the premises on December 29.
“It could have been someone working on the house! The fact that it was just a person sitting there eating food,” Trooper Steve Limani said.
Limani said three other children were upstairs sleeping when Naugle killed Thomas.
Thomas was a member of the Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department in Brandenville, Chief Mark Piantine said, according to WPXI.
“He grew up here,” Piantine said of Thomas’s 12-year-old son. “He is a young kid, and he has come to a call with his dad, and his hope was to follow in his dad’s steps. I guess it’s up to us to take in Landon for his dad.”
Naugle’s estranged wife and their four children were not physically harmed during Thomas’s murder.
Naugle is being held without bond and is due in court on January 14, TribLive said.