An 81-year-old widower who “trusted everybody” — rarely locking the doors to his low-slung stone home in Kennedy — was bound, burned with chemicals and killed during an apparent robbery, authorities said Wednesday.

Thomas A. Nicholson was found dead Tuesday in his bedroom — his hands and feet bound, Allegheny County police said. His home had been robbed as recently as a few weeks ago, said neighbor Dane Letcher, 69, who lives across the street.

Nicholson died of a “physical assault with ligature restraint” that included chemical burns, the medical examiner's office said. Cardiovascular disease, hypertension and congestive heart failure were factors in his death, the medical examiner's office said.

Nicholson had lived alone since his wife died several years ago, and he was in declining health, said Thea Justice, a neighbor who regularly checked on Nicholson.

“I don't know why they did what they did,” she said. “There's no reason for what happened.”

Police haven't made an arrest.

It's unclear what chemicals were used to burn Nicholson or what part of his body was burned.

It sounds as if someone tortured him “to try to get him to talk,” said William Manion, a forensic pathologist in Burlington County, N.J., who specializes in homicides.

“It sounds like he might have had valuables in his house. Or they wanted the numbers to his bank card,” Manion said.

Kennedy police would not release paperwork related to the earlier robbery because of the homicide investigation.

“It wasn't a random act,” Letcher said of the slaying. “It was somebody that knew he was a defenseless, old man.”

“He trusted everybody,” said Justice, who added that Nicholson often left the doors to his Fairhaven Road home unlocked.

She and her husband, Randy, mowed Nicholson's lawn and regularly drove him to the cemetery so he could visit his wife's grave.

The couple began helping Nicholson with errands three or four years ago after watching him struggle to shovel his driveway, Thea Justice said.

She would bake him a cake on his birthday “because he didn't have anyone else.”

The slaying left the neighborhood feeling uneasy, said Bob Campalong, 47, who lives a few doors down.

“It's very shocking,” he said. “The whole thing is beyond belief. It's something that doesn't happen in this community.”

The grisly details surrounding Nicholson's death have left the neighborhood “on edge,” Campalong said.

“It makes you think twice about thinking you're safe.”

Seniors can be especially vulnerable to the stress of home attacks. Two fatal cases occurred within weeks of each in 2003. Four men posing as gas company workers entered the Peters home Freda Dale and her husband, Shannon, and tied up the couple. Freda Dale, 89, died of a heart attack.

A frail, elderly Penn Hills man died during a home invasion. Frank M. Silvio's severe heart disease had been exacerbated by the stress of being robbed in his home, officials said.

Tony Raap is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7827 or traap@tribweb.com.

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