Police investigate doctor's murder at area state park

Dr. Andrew D. Bagby came to Latrobe Area Hospital because he wanted to be a family physician.

In July, the California native began a three-year residency program, working one day a week in the hospital's satellite office in Saltsburg, where he treated people for a variety of ailments.

The body of the young physician was discovered Tuesday morning in Keystone State Park in Derry Township, about three miles southeast of New Alexandria.

Bagby, 27, had been shot five times: once in the head, chest and face, and twice in the buttocks, according to acting Westmoreland County Coroner V.L. "Skip" Rusiewicz.

He also suffered a severe blow to the head that contributed to his death, said Rusiewicz, who ruled the death a homicide.

Two people out for an early morning walk found Bagby's body behind his late model black Toyota in a parking lot just above Keystone Lake. He was wearing hospital scrubs and his identification tag, police said.

The area where the body was discovered is located above the boat launch area, a popular spot in warmer weather. There are no buildings nearby except for the park office and the residence of the park superintendent.

Bagby was supposed to meet Dr. Clark Simpson, the chief resident, Monday night for a drink. But Bagby never arrived, Simpson told state police.

He did not show up for work early yesterday morning. State troopers later arrived at the hospital to inform Dr. John Bertolino, director of the residency program, that Bagby's body had been found.

A resident, who refused to give his name, said Bertolino called a meeting of the residents yesterday to inform them of Bagby's death. He said residents were shocked by news of their colleague's murder.

A fellow intern and neighbor, Dr. Michael Guffey, said Bagby made friends quickly with other interns. He said the residents had become a fairly close-knit group over the past few months. He described Bagby as friendly and outgoing, very well-liked and "always the life of the party."

"That just makes this that more unthinkable," Guffey added. "It was quite shocking. The group was in shock. People were stunned."

Investigators questioned four college students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania who were camping around the lake and a man from Maine whose car was parked near the murder scene, said Trooper Tom Spallone.

He said the students did not report hearing any gunshots Monday night.

Investigators questioned the Maine man who said he was waiting for the park to open so he could visit the campgrounds. They also examined the contents of his car, which was packed with tools and personal belongings.

Spallone said the man allowed troopers to search his car and his room at Thatcher's motel on Route 22 where he said he had been staying for the past week.

State police investigators using transits to take measurements of the crime scene and Greensburg volunteer firemen using metal detectors searched the area looking for shell casings and other evidence. Investigators also searched a wooded area behind the parking lot.

State police towed Bagby's car, which was later taken to the state police garage in Greensburg for examination.

Trooper Curt Nolan obtained a warrant yesterday afternoon from District Justice Michael Mahady in Unity Township to search the vehicle specifically for hair, fibers, blood, seminal fluids, notebooks, journals, address books, computer disks, cellular telephones and pagers.

Bagby lived in a neat, ivy-covered, 1½-story red brick house across the street from the hospital, one of a half-dozen such homes owned by the hospital on West Second Avenue that are used to house residents.

He had been enrolled in the Family Practice Residency program at Latrobe Area Hospital since July 1. The program places physicians who want to practice family medicine in one of the hospital's satellite offices where they can treat patients under the guidance of another physician.

Bagby was a 1999 graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland Medical School in St. John's and completed one year of another residency program in Syracuse, N.Y., before deciding to go into family medicine. He was a native of Sunnyvale, Calif., where his father is a software engineer and his mother is a nurse practitioner.

Staff writers Dwayne Pickels and Debra Erdley contributed to this report.