North Huntingdon man ordered to stand trial for Penn Township slayings

Jun. 1—"I told you this would happen. I told you not to run your mouth," Victor F. Steban said as he stood over Jacob Erdeljac, taunting the dying man.

Steban, 53, had just ambushed Erdeljac, 40, and his girlfriend, Mara Casale, 27, outside the home they shared in Penn Township, according to Westmoreland County Det. Randall Gardner, the only witness to testify at Steban's preliminary hearing Tuesday.

According to Gardner, Steban gave police a detailed account of his actions on May 16, the day Erdeljac and Casale were gunned down. Police say Steban told them he shot Casale first, then shot Erdeljac several times.

"(Steban) said he then approached (Casale) and finished her off," said Gardner "He said he used the same AR-15 rifle on both victims that police found him with when he was arrested."

Steban sat handcuffed and shackled at the defense table during the hearing. He kept his head bowed toward the floor and never spoke to his attorneys, Chris Huffman and Patrice DiPietro of the public defender's office.

Jake Erdeljac was the intended target of the May 16 slaying, Gardner said. Steban told investigators that he was angry with Erdeljac, who he believed facilitated the recent breakup between him and a woman he had dated.

Gardner said Steban provided a detailed account to investigators that chronicled his three-day crime spree that culminated with the slaying of the couple at their Claridge home.

Police arrested Steban on May 18 as he attempted to flee as he walked along Route 30 in North Huntingdon carrying a bag and a firearm.

District Judge Helen Kistler ruled there was sufficient evidence presented for Steban to stand trial. He is charged with two counts of criminal homicide and single counts of burglary, robbery and firearms offenses.

He was remanded to the county jail, where he is being held without bond. Police say his crime spree, including the homicides, began May 15 and continued until his arrest three days later.

About a dozen relatives of Casale and Erdeljac attended the hearing. Most declined comment.

Robert Erdeljac, of Oakmont, spoke briefly about his son's death as he exited the court in Harrison City.

"There's two families who are suffering here. We're watching the legal process play out right now," he said.

Authorities alleged that Steban set his home on North Thompson Lane on fire about 11 p.m. May 15. He is accused of then shooting at three homes in Hempfield and Sewickley townships during the early morning hours of May 16. Police said he waited until that afternoon to drive to Erdeljac's home, where he hid in a tree line about 150 yards from the house until about 8:30 p.m. That is when investigators said the couple arrived on a motorcycle at the home they shared off Claridge-Elliott Road.

Steban told investigators that he "closed in" on foot with his AR-15 rifle, Gardner testified. Casale spotted him as she walked to the house, so he shot her, he told detectives. She was laying on the ground near the back porch. Steban said he then shot Erdeljac near the garage "while he was on his bike," Gardner said.

A friend found their bodies the following morning, authorities said.

Gardner said Steban told investigators he got his truck stuck in a muddy field in Claridge, so he stole Erdeljac's red Tacoma pickup. He abandoned it the morning after the shooting.

"He said he drove around for a while... he thought we were tailing him. He drove into Bedford County and then around White Oak in Allegheny County," Gardner testified. Steban left the truck near an abandoned house in Manor at approximately 1:30 a.m. May 17, he said.

Gardner also reported that Steban told them he took methamphetamine in the days leading to the crime spree. But District Attorney John Peck said after the hearing that investigators do not believe Steban was under the influence of contraband when Casale and Erdeljac were killed.

Erdeljac worked as a transmission and distribution supervisor with Duquesne Light Co., while Casale was a bartender at Ski and Nick's Lounge in Penn Township.

Steban's attorneys declined comment as they left court.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .