CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The investigation into the death of a DuBois woman found dead at a Clarion Borough apartment last week is ongoing, and definitive autopsy results are not yet available, according to Clarion County Coroner Dan Shingledecker.
The woman, identified as Rachel Roman, 45, was found deceased on Wednesday, November 5, at an apartment at 308 Main Street. An autopsy was conducted on Friday, November 7, in Erie by Dr. Todd Luckasevic.
“We do not have definitive results yet,” Shingledecker said Monday. “The investigation is still ongoing.”
“This will take some time to piece everything together.”
Shingledecker stated there is no timetable for the release of further information, such as an official cause or time of death, and directed further inquiries about the investigation’s timeline to the Clarion Borough Police Department.
According to Clarion Borough Police Chief Bill Peck, officers were dispatched to the apartment around 7 a.m. on November 5 for a report of a deceased person and found Roman “obviously deceased.”
Neighbors living near the Main Street apartment reported hearing noise and people yelling on Tuesday evening, November 4. A car horn was also reportedly going off repeatedly, and at one point, a 9-1-1 call was reportedly made to report the noise.
The resident of the apartment, 34-year-old Chase Wayne Steigerwald, was arrested and remains in Clarion County Jail on a felony drug charge. He was arraigned Wednesday evening on one felony count of manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver.
The criminal complaint alleges the charge stems from an incident on Tuesday, November 4, in which Steigerwald provided purported methamphetamine to another woman who was at his apartment. Authorities noted this woman is not the individual who was found deceased.
Steigerwald was lodged in the Clarion County Jail after failing to post $100,000 monetary bail.
No charges have been filed in direct connection with Roman’s death.
In an interview on Monday, Chief Peck confirmed the case remains an “ongoing investigation” and is being handled as a “joint investigation” with the Pennsylvania State Police.
Peck said investigators are “waiting on toxicology and other lab results” from the scene in addition to the final autopsy report. At the scene, investigators from the PSP Troop C Crime Reconstruction Unit processed the apartment using 3D cameras and other specialized forensic technologies.
Police were also seen canvassing Clarion Borough on Thursday, asking residents and business owners for video footage in relation to the case.
Peck declined to comment on whether the death is being investigated as suspicious.
“We’re conducting a death investigation,” said Peck.
He also declined to characterize the relationship between Roman and Steigerwald or to state whether Steigerwald is considered a person of interest or a suspect in Roman’s death. He did confirm that Steigerwald has been “interviewed by the investigators assigned to the case.”
Peck also stated that investigators are “still actively conducting interviews” with multiple individuals.
