The death of a 64-year-old man in a Pennsylvania nursing home has been ruled a homicide, nearly four decades after he was the victim of a vicious beating with a baseball bat, authorities said this week.
The death of a 64-year-old man in a Pennsylvania nursing home has been ruled a homicide, nearly four decades after he was the victim of a vicious beating with a baseball bat, authorities said this week.
Craig Tschudy died on June 5 in the Inners Creek Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dallastown, the York County Coroner said Wednesday.
Pennsylvania Man's Death Ruled Homicide Nearly Four Decades After Bat Attack
Tschudy was 26 when he was attacked in York City by bat-wielding suspects in a case of mistaken identity in 1986, the coroner said. The assault caused permanent traumatic brain injury and complications.
"York City Police was the investigating police agency at the time of the initial assault and no charges were able to be filed at the time of the injury due to the inability to specifically identify the assailants," the coroner’s office said in a statement.
Pennsylvania Man's Death Ruled Homicide Nearly Four Decades After Bat Attack
The cause of death was determined to be diffuse traumatic brain injury, while the manner of death was a homicide, the coroner's office said.
The assailants were never identified and no charges will be filed yet, authorities said. However, the coroner's office noted that there is no statute of limitations on homicides.
Pennsylvania Man's Death Ruled Homicide Nearly Four Decades After Bat Attack
The office said an autopsy would not be performed.
Tschudy's death is the latest in a series of unsolved murders in York County. In recent years, authorities have reopened several cold cases, including the deaths of three women whose bodies were found in Gilgo Beach, New York.
Pennsylvania Man's Death Ruled Homicide Nearly Four Decades After Bat Attack
In 2020, authorities charged a man named Rex Heuermann with the murders of two of the Gilgo Beach victims. Heuermann is also a suspect in the deaths of several other women in New York and Pennsylvania.
Authorities believe that Heuermann's killing spree may have started as early as 1993. The discovery of Tschudy's death could provide new evidence in the investigation into Heuermann's crimes.
The York County Coroner's Office is asking anyone with information about the 1986 attack on Tschudy to contact them.
