ALIQUIPPA — A city police sergeant was placed on critical incident leave after the Mother's Day shooting death of a family friend.
Police Chief Donald Couch said Kenneth Watkins officially was moved to the paid leave position after 33-year-old Rachael DelTondo was shot and killed Sunday night in the driveway of her mother’s Buchanan Street home in Aliquippa.
Couch stressed that the leave — which is granted to an officer whenever there is a personal connection to a significant case, such as a homicide — is "in no way, shape or form" a disciplinary action.
“The first reason for doing it is to maintain case integrity,” Couch said. “The officer should not have access to what’s going on in the case if he is close to it.”
By removing the officer, the department avoids any potential issues if the case goes to trial.
“It’s just common sense when you have a critical incident and you have someone close to it,” Couch said.
The other reason for the leave is so the officer can mourn the loss with his or her family.
Couch said Watkins was close with DelTondo and her family. However, he would not address the speculation that Watkins' teenage daughter might have been a witness to the crime.
“They suffered a loss. They were very close to this girl," said Couch, adding that he believes Watkins wanted to be taken off the case so that he could grieve with his family. It’s an emotional time, he said.
“(Watkins' daughter) is a close friend of the victim, and the whole family was,” Couch said. “That’s why he’s off; they’re in mourning, they’re upset.”
Couch said he could not discuss reports by other media outlets that a private letter was sent by an Aliquippa officer suggesting Watkins “contaminated” the crime scene on the night of the homicide.
“That’s an internal matter, and I’m not going to comment on it,” he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no charges have been filed. On Tuesday, Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier would not confirm if a suspect has been identified but assured the public that the case is being actively investigated by Aliquippa police, Beaver County detectives and state police.
Lozier said reports that the homicide was committed as a “crime of passion” or out of “jealousy” were made by an unnamed person who is “not involved in the investigation.” Lozier said he and the investigative team have not released any motive for the shooting.
Couch said the three agencies are working hard together.
“I feel that we are giving a very effective investigation,” he said.