Friends of a Penn Township woman allegedly strangled by a Greensburg man at his home last week are disputing the suspect's claims that the two were lovers who intended to commit suicide. The suspect, Thomas Sowash, 54, of 218 Alwine Ave., told reporters Tuesday that he strangled Karen Nesbitt, 53, of 958 Harrison Road, last week because financial problems were keeping them apart. 'I really miss her a lot. I'm not really glad I survived,' Sowash said as county sheriff's deputies led him away from District Justice James Albert's office in the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Sowash, who was shackled with leg irons and handcuffs, was arraigned before Albert on charges of homicide, first-degree murder and delivery of drugs resulting in death. Albert did not set a bond for Sowash because he is charged with homicide.

Since Nesbitt's death, Sowash has been a patient at Westmoreland Regional Hospital's Comprehensive Counseling Center in Greensburg. He was wearing hospital pants, shirts and slippers at yesterday's arraignment. Albert scheduled a preliminary hearing for Sowash on Sept. 13, but Sowash was transported to the Mayview State Hospital near Bridgeville for a mental health evaluation. The order from Westmoreland Judge Anthony Marsili allows Sowash to remain at the hospital for 90 days, Albert said. Police accused Sowash of strangling Nesbitt in the bedroom of his duplex apartment on Aug. 27. Nesbitt's family members contacted police after she did not respond when they knocked on Sowash's door. Police found Nesbitt on the bed and a semi-conscious Sowash lying next to her at 11 a.m. The Westmoreland County Coroner's Office ruled that Nesbitt died of asphyxiation due to manual strangling and that drinking the mixture of OxyContin and heart medication was a secondary factor. Sowash claimed the two decided to make the suicide pact after Nesbitt failed in an attempt to rent a house in Southwest Greensburg. Sowash said he wanted to rent a house on Sydney Street to be close to her residence. 'We were going to end all the problems together,' Sowash said. Sowash said he and Nesbitt drank a liquefied mixture of crushed OxyContin, an opium-based painkiller, and heart medication. Instead of killing them, Sowash said it made them sick. 'We were disappointed it didn't work,' Sowash said of the purported suicide attempt. Although there was a loaded .22-caliber rifle in the bedroom, Sowash said Nesbitt did not want to be found shot to death. 'We decided early on we weren't going to shoot each other,' Sowash said. When reporters asked about the strangulation, Sowash responded, 'I'm making a concentrated effort not to remember that.' Sowash told police he continued to strangle Nesbitt 'until she was dead.' 'I promised her (Nesbitt) I would clean her up,' Sowash said. Although Sowash claimed to be romantically involved with Nesbitt, her friends and co-workers said Nesbitt was in love with another man and was too dedicated to her three sons and three grandchildren to kill herself. A co-worker at Lumpy's Country Deli and Pie Shop at 980 Harrison City Road, Level Green, said Nesbitt gave no indications of being depressed the weekend before she was killed. 'The news (of her death) came as a real shock,' said Missy Bluman, manager of Lumpy's. Nesbitt worked weekends at the deli off and on for the past decade, Bluman said. Nesbitt was a 'very nice, very happy' woman who loved her grandchildren, Bluman said. Rather than contemplating suicide, Bluman said Nesbitt was 'all excited' about plans to rent a house in Southwest Greensburg with her son, Timothy. Nesbitt's relationship with Sowash ended a few years ago, and she was dating another man who is 'devastated' by what happened, said Patricia Lentz of Penn Township, who had been friends with Nesbitt for five years. Lentz was angered by Sowash's claims that Nesbitt wanted to commit suicide with him. 'She's the victim. They're (news media) dragging her name through the mud. I'd stake my life on it that that's not true,' Lentz said of Sowash's claim that the pair decided to commit suicide. Lentz said Nesbitt was always happy and was planning a vacation, not a suicide. 'I know that she did not make that (suicide) pact willingly. She had too much to live for,' Lentz said. Members of Nesbitt's family could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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