Burglary call leads to suspicious death probe in West Scranton

Oct. 18—Scranton police continued an investigation Wednesday into a suspicious death in West Side.

Lt. Michael Perry, a patrol supervisor, released few details Wednesday morning because the investigation is being led by the city's detective bureau. A supervisor in that bureau could not immediately be reached. The investigation began as a call to investigate a burglary at 1127 Rock St. at 8:18 a.m., Perry said.

Once they arrived, it turned into something else.

"Male down," an officer said over emergency communications.

Two neighbors, Kathy Harrison and Cindy Barber, said they watched city police lead a man out of the building in handcuffs. His hands were blood stained, they both said.

The man's name was not available, though Harrison said she recognized him as a tenant in that building.

The neighbors reported that they did not hear anything out of the ordinary Wednesday morning and were surprised by the sudden police presence.

"We've never had anything like this happen before," Barber said.

The property has been owned by Rosemary Auriemma since February 1985, according to Lackawanna County assessment records.

The Lackawanna County coroner's office was called to the scene. Coroner Tim Rowland confirmed his office was involved in a suspicious death investigation but did not release further details.

The house remained an active crime scene early Wednesday afternoon.

West Scranton High School, 1201 Luzerne St., and West Scranton Intermediate School, 1401 Fellows St., took additional precautions Wednesday morning amid the police activity, said acting Superintendent Patrick Laffey.

The two schools were "business as usual" by the afternoon, he said.

Sarah Hofius Hall, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.