Unsolved Slaying of Teacher at Her Mom's House on Mother's Day Was 'Crime of Passion'
Pennsylvania investigators reportedly say the shooting of a teacher in her mother’s driveway over the weekend was “a crime of passion.”
Authorities told local TV station KDKA that Rachael DelTondo likely knew her assailant, but they have not yet named a suspect in her killing and no arrest is forthcoming
Nonetheless, Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier told the outlet, “We could not be taking this more seriously.”
“We had a young woman … shot to death on the driveway of her mother’s house on Mother’s Day evening,” he said. “We’re investigating everyone that was driving in Aliquippa that night that was anywhere near this young lady’s house.”
Police say that they’re methodically and painstakingly investigating the crime. PEOPLE confirms that they have sent DelTondo’s cell phone to a lab to unlock all of her text messages and emails.
DelTondo went out for ice cream on Sunday evening and then returned to her mother’s house.
As she got out of the car, an unidentified shooter hit her multiple times — neighbors reported hearing between 10 and 12 gunshots — and her family and friend ran outside to help her.
Police were called to the scene around 10:30 p.m., where they pronounced DelTondo dead.
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Lozier told reporters on Tuesday that authorities have not yet determined a motive in the killing. He did say, however, that the neighborhood should not be afraid of an indiscriminate killer.
“From what we know, no,” he answered when asked if the crime was random.
DelTondo worked as a teacher at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School until last fall. She was suspended from her job after the mother of a student alleged that she was involved in an incident involving her teenage son.
A police report obtained by several news outlets alleged that officers found DelTondo and the boy in a parked car around 2 a.m.
DelTondo was never charged in the incident, which authorities now say was used to smear her.
“It’s shameful that this woman was painted with a police report that had been written that did not result in criminal charges,” Lozier told CBS News. “It was a personal vendetta against her at the time.”
