Friends of victim, accused riveted by arrest of Dravosburg man

Joe Krsul's best friend, Michael Haines, won't be at his wedding on Saturday, but the arrest of the man accused of killing him is the perfect gift.

"I can be at ease and celebrate my wedding, and not have that in the back of my mind the whole time, that he's still out there," said Krsul, 32, of East McKeesport, who lived with Haines for seven years. "We're going to have a seat set aside for him at the wedding with a name card, so he'll be there in spirit."

The arrest Tuesday of Ken Konias Jr., the co-worker police say killed Haines, 31, during an armored car heist on Feb. 28, brought relief to the victim's friends and to a community stretching from the Mon Valley across Western Pennsylvania. People found the crime and manhunt riveting.

"I had a rush of good feelings when I heard he'd been captured, and there is some feeling of justice," said Darin DiNapoli, 28, of Penn Hills, a Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother of Haines who roomed with him at Robert Morris University. "But there is no punishment for this guy that would be enough."

His fraternity, family and classmates established a scholarship in Haines' name.

Konias grew up in Dravosburg, where people chatted about the arrest and texted one another as the news spread.

"Everybody was talking about it constantly," said Mary Ellen Thompson, 53, of Dravosburg. "I was surprised he would do something like that, but people have dark sides and people do things. You never know."

Nate Meadville, 24, of Dravosburg said he played with Konias when they were young.

"We would be riding bikes, and he would pull up behind us acting like a cop and trying to write us tickets," Meadville said. "I couldn't believe this. It's such a little, quiet town."

A report on the capture played on a TV at the Laundromat a few blocks from the home Konias shared with his parents. Kristin Julian, 31, and Ayodele Aina, 35, both of West Mifflin, talked about the story while loading clothes into machines.

"If you think about it, he was not going to get away with it," Aina said.

Julian said she didn't think Konias would be on the run for nearly two months. She was disappointed with the possible reputation the story might give the area.

"I wish it was positive attention and not negative," she said. "It seems like a lot of big crime happens out of Pittsburgh. I don't want to be known for that."

Cheryl Dupak, 63, of Dravosburg watched a report of the arrest before heading to Spee-D Foodmart.

"Who knows what he did with the rest of the money," Dupak said. "I'd like to find some of it flying around town."

The case is tragic for both families and the community, said Dan Wilson, 55, a Konias' family neighbor for about 20 years.

"It's a tragedy for Kenny, too," Wilson said. "His soul is lost at this point."