Four charged in drug-related sword slaying case

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Four men have been charged with stabbing another man to death with a sword in western Pennsylvania 1 1/2 years ago in what authorities allege was a dispute over drug money.

Forty-four-year-old Michael Ernest Eades Jr. of Tyrone is charged in Indiana County with criminal homicide, robbery, and conspiracy in the October 2014 death of 37-year-old Tyron Howard. %

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It's the day Howard's mother, Connie, has been waiting for.

"It's like my heart is heavy right now," Connie Howard said. "I just want to thank the people that brought all of this closure for me."

Police said Tyron Howard's body was found in an apartment in Blairsville, about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh. A sword with a 22-inch blade was recovered.

He was found bound, gagged and stabbed with a sword inside his Blairsville apartment.

Authorities said at the time that the victim may have been stabbed to death more than two days before the body was found.

"Whether it's video from different establishments. Whether it's cell phone records, piecing that puzzle together is a very time-consuming and tedious process," said Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty.

The four men, from the Altoona and Baltimore areas, were known to be heroin dealers in business with the victim.

"We believe these individuals went there that evening looking to rob the victim of money," Dougherty said.

Court documents don't list an attorney for Eades who could respond to the charges; a listed number for him couldn't be found Monday.

Cox Media Group