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Coroner says man died on gunshot wound in Kennedy Township home

KENNEDY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The coroner said a man died of a gunshot wound in his Kennedy Township home Monday.

Channel 11's Courtney Brennan reported the victim was John Parkes Jr., 59, and his live-in girlfriend of 20 years found his body inside their Poplar Street home. Neighbors heard the commotion and called 911.

“She wasn’t sure what she saw, but when she turned the body over she suspected there was something much more serious that what she had originally seen,” Kennedy Township Police Chief Anthony Bruni said.

Forensic teams, homicide detectives and the Medical Examiner’s Office investigated the scene inside the home and in the surrounding area.

Neighbors told police Parkes’ garage door and back gate were always closed when he was inside the house. Monday afternoon, both were left wide open.

“The neighbors all noticed the same thing and they said the same thing,” Bruni said. “It was such a routine doing the same thing all the time.”

“We’re treating this as a suspicious death. There was a white male found deceased inside the residence sometime this afternoon,” Allegheny County police Assistant Superintendent James Morton said.

Neighbors told Channel 11 News they couldn’t believe what they saw Monday night.

“Like everyone says, it’s a nice, quiet neighborhood. You would never expect something like this to happen,” Andy Laskowski said.

"It's a peaceful neighborhood.  It's a good neighborhood," said neighbor Carol Sutey-Hughes.

Several neighbors said they believe Parkes and his girlfriend were going to get married in the next few months.

WPXI

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