Uniontown suspect in attempted homicide dies after jumping through window while in police custody

Renatta Signorini, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read

Jan. 2—A Uniontown man wanted on attempted homicide charges died Saturday after jumping through a third-floor window as police were taking him into custody.

Pennsylvania State Police said officers from Connellsville responded about 11 p.m. Friday after a report of a squatter in a vacant building at North Pittsburgh Street and East Crawford Avenue. They reportedly found Bernard J. Geisel, 42, inside.

He was handcuffed because of an arrest warrant issued Dec. 15 stemming from an incident in Redstone, according to police and court records.

As Geisel was being escorted down a stairwell by police, authorities said, he jumped headfirst out a window and landed on a sidewalk below. He died a few hours later at AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

State troopers were contacted for help with the investigation. A video of the incident was posted on social media after apparently being recorded from across the street and through a window to the building's stairwell.

The video showed police walking behind a handcuffed man, using their flashlights to illuminate the steps. The handcuffed man appeared to launch himself headfirst out a window, tumbling to the ground below.

Neighbor Bonnie Ray said she didn't see the incident but later watched the video on social media. She noticed a lot of police outside what is known as the Brimstone Building that night but initially didn't know what had happened.

The Brimstone Building at one time housed businesses and offices, Ray said. Even though it is abandoned, she sometimes sees the doors open.

"It's been empty for a very, very long time," she said. "I just pray for his family."

The attempted homicide complaint was filed after the Dec. 14 incident at a Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Redstone, according to court papers. Geisel was accused of attacking the man with a crowbar and then hitting him with a station wagon. The two knew each other after dating the same woman in the past, police said.

The injured man was taken to a hospital. The charges were withdrawn Wednesday, according to court records.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .