Cops: Man Blows Himself Up on Daughter's Wedding Day

Unidentified Pennsylvania resident is found amid the rubble
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 15, 2019 12:55 PM CDT
Cops: Man Blows Himself Up on Daughter's Wedding Day
First responders work at the scene of a house fire on Garland Street in Edgewood, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.   (Christian Snyder/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

A man in suburban Pittsburgh apparently blew up his house—with him inside it—while his daughter was getting married, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Neighbors describe seeing the man, who remains unidentified, outside his Edgewood home shortly before it exploded Saturday afternoon. Authorities say they later found him amid the rubble and apparent suicide notes in his SUV parked down the street, per KDKA. His cellphone was also found on the SUV's windshield, "which is kind of odd, and so that troubles us," says Edgewood Police Chief Robert Payne.

Neighbor Donna Antolovich says she was rocked by the explosion and came out to see the man's house "in flames—still standing—but in flames," while another neighbor says the house collapsed within 90 seconds of him running outside. Police say they had visited the man before over domestic issues involving mental illness. They suspect he disconnected the house gas line and lit a spark to trigger the explosion. "I was devastated," Antolovich tells WTAE. "I've been here my whole life. I've known them my whole life. Their daughter was getting married today and they were supposed to be at the wedding." (More explosion stories.)

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