Ligonier's quaint serenity was shattered early Wednesday by the killing of a well-known former businessman whose lineage can be traced to founders of one of the region's steelmaking giants.

Firefighters responding to a report of a fire at 325 E. Main St. found the body of William McMichael Jones, 75, in his first-floor apartment. Jones, grandson of the founder of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., was shot once in the back of the head, Ligonier police Chief Jack Berger said.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck declined to comment on the nature of Jones' injuries.

Jones' apartment in a two-story home known locally as the historic Morgan House and located just a few blocks from the upscale shops of Ligonier's Diamond was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, Peck said. Two other apartments in the house were unoccupied, according to Berger.

Shortly after the discovery of Jones' body, state police issued a bulletin for Jones' 1990 light gray Cadillac DeVille, which was missing from his home.

"We think whoever is in that car knows what happened this morning," Berger said.

An unidentified man was seen driving the car around the gazebo in the town's Diamond shortly after the fire was reported at 5:23 a.m., according to Mike Brajdich, chief of the Westmoreland County Detectives.

As word of the shooting spread through the close-knit community and stunned nearby shopkeepers opened their businesses, a half-dozen county detectives combed through the house. The officers removed bags and boxes of evidence collected from the well-kept home and spoke with friends and family members gathered at a nearby house.

Damage to the house, which is listed for sale for $220,000, was not extensive, according to Dan Stevens, a spokesman for Westmoreland County Emergency Management. Property records show the owner of the home died in 2007.

An unidentified family member standing outside Jones' home said he did not want to be interviewed.

Jones' friends and neighbors struggled to piece together the events of the day. The longtime resident was a familiar sight on the streets of the town and was described by many as having a friendly, upbeat personality.

David Purnell, a friend of Jones for 30 years, said the two spent time together Tuesday.

"I was with Mike from noon to 6 on Tuesday," Purnell said. "I needed to buy a TV and I said, 'Mike, I know you have some free time.' So he helped me buy a TV."

The two had lunch at a McDonald's on Route 30, and Purnell later dropped off Jones at his apartment.

"I said, 'Have a nice evening, Mike,' and went home," Purnell said. "I'm afraid to say this, but I may have been the last person to see him alive."

He said Jones had some health problems in recent years but it never diminished his outlook on life.

"He was a very gregarious kind of guy," Purnell said. "He could always joke on things that were going on around here.

"I can't imagine Mike having any enemies."

Purnell said Jones once owned several fast-food restaurants in New Jersey before returning to the Pittsburgh area.

Neighbor Sarah Durham, who would cross paths with Jones when she walked her dog, knew the victim only as "Pap," a name he told her to call him. He was an affable man who shoveled neighbors' sidewalks in the winter, Durham said.

Jones joined the Tribune-Review Publishing Co. in 1972 as marketing director. He became vice president and general manager before being named president in 1983. He resigned from that post in 1988.

Jones is survived by two sons, William McMichael Jones Jr. and Christopher Curran Jones, both of Pittsburgh; a daughter, Blythe Mitchell Lyons of Washington, D.C.; and four grandchildren.

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