Reward offered in case of murdered motel owner

JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa. — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case of a murdered motel owner in Jefferson Hills, according to family members.

Someone walked into the Jefferson Hills Motel on Route 51 at about 4:30 a.m. on May 27 and shot Dehnad Taiedi, 78.

“I urge anyone who knows anything at all to please come forward, and please find it in your heart to ease my family’s pain and give us closure and justice,” said Kimberly Taiedi, Dehnad’s daughter.

Tajedi was working at the front desk.

Taiedi’s family members told Channel 11 News last week that Taiedi had to have let the shooter in because the doors to the motel are always locked overnight.

“The person or people who did this are out there. If they are capable of doing this to him, they are obviously capable of hurting someone else. It’s best to get them off the street, so honestly I can sleep at night,” said Kimberly.

Ashley Nebel, Taiedi’s granddaughter, said her grandfather had started the paperwork for renting a room when he was shot.

Police said the shooter got away with $180, and another customer, who arrived a short time later, found Taiedi’s body and called 911.

Nebel said her grandfather had come to the United States from Iran when he was in his 20's.

“He came here with $14 in his pocket, and he had a knack for business,” she said. “He was a hard worker. He didn't deserve this, you know, doing what he loved. He loved this place. He did.”

Cox Media Group