A man suspected of killing a Brackenridge woman was extradited from West Virginia on Tuesday to face murder charges in Allegheny County.
Justin Bartlett, 25, was arrested in Fairmont, West Virginia, in early January. Allegheny County police secured an arrest warrant for Bartlett charging him with homicide, burglary, theft and tampering with evidence.
The victim, 63-year-old Linda McGinnis, was found dead in her home on Dec. 31. McGinnis died of stab wounds on her head and neck, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to Allegheny County police and an affidavit, Bartlett admitted to the murder. He told investigators he hadn’t meant to kill McGinnis, his neighbor whom he called "grandma," but he wanted a car to "start over" in West Virginia.
Bartlett told police he stabbed her, put his bloody clothes in the trash and then drove McGinnis' car to Hundred, West Virginia, where he met up with a 19-year-old woman whom he’d met on a dating website.
The woman told Channel 11 she had no idea Bartlett was being investigated for murder when she let him spend the night in her parents’ basement. Bartlett was caught the next day after a store clerk in West Virginia recognized him and called police.
Bartlett initially told investigators that he had blacked out and didn’t know how he had wound up in another state in the victim’s car. Eventually he admitted to stealing McGinnis' car, police said.
Investigators said Bartlett told them McGinnis didn’t deserve what happened to her and that he was afraid to go back to jail.
Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.
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