A California Borough man accused of murdering his neighbor told police that the 92-year-old woman died during a struggle over a knife she confronted him with as he was burglarizing her home.

David A. McClelland, 56, told police five variations of how Evelyn Stepko died, including one in which she threw him down her cellar stairs, according to testimony at his preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

McClelland was held for trial on charges of criminal homicide, burglary and related offenses after the hearing at the Washington County Courthouse.

McClelland and his son, David J. McClelland, 36, a part-time police officer in Washington Township, Fayette County, were arrested on Friday.

Stepko was found dead at the bottom of her basement stairs July 18 by police after neighbors had reported not seeing her for several days. She died of two stab wounds to the neck -- one sliced her jugular vein -- and of blunt-force trauma to the chest, which resulted in several broken ribs, according to testimony by forensic pathologist Dr. A. Shakir.

The hearing for David J. McClelland was postponed until next week at the request of his attorney.

Prosecutors believe the men burglarized Stepko's home several times in recent years. She kept large amounts of cash in the house where she had lived all of her life, police said. Investigators have said they recovered about $82,000 in currency from Stepko's home after her death.

After his arrest, David A. McClelland offered the first version of events.

He said he entered her home, not knowing she was there, and stood at the top of her basement stairs.

"He saw Evelyn coming at him with a knife," Trooper John F. Marshall said. "He sidestepped her thrust, and she fell down the cellar steps, and the knife went in her neck, and he left."

In the next version, he said Stepko hit her head on the wall as she fell down the stairs. He said he checked on her, saw she was dying, and ran.

The third version began with a confrontation between him and Stepko, and the 92-year-old threw him down the stairs. He said she walked down the steps, kicked him and pulled out a knife. They struggled with the knife, she bit him, and the knife ended up in her neck.

"As he's leaving the cellar, he reaches in behind the steps and takes the knife," Marshall said.

McClelland told the troopers that he put the knife in a drainage ditch behind his home. Police later recovered it.

In the fourth version, McClelland added that he was wearing latex gloves when he tried to pry open a cedar chest in the front room when Stepko confronted him and the struggled ensued. Police found a latex glove in Stepko's home with blood on it that contained McClelland's fingerprint.

Finally, McClelland admitted he had been on Stepko's porch a few days before her death to ask why she had a problem with him. He claimed Stepko swore at him and said he would die and his family would die, Marshall said.

McClelland claimed he went back to her home on July 17 because he knew she was home.

"He wanted to confront her and pay her back for her comments," Marshall said. McClelland indicated that by "pay her back" he meant burglarize her home.

Yesterday's testimony indicated that police keyed in on the elder McClelland early in their investigation.

Stepko had reported four burglaries at her home to California police in recent years. Neighbors told troopers that David A. McClelland was on Stepko's back porch a few days before her body was found. One neighbor reported talking to Stepko on the phone that day when Stepko said the elder McClelland was on her porch.

Marshall said he talked to David A. McClelland three times before he was arrested to "befriend him" and get background based on what neighbors told police.

During those conversations, McClelland denied being on Stepko's back porch, Marshall said. McClelland even offered the name of another neighbor as a suspect in the killing, Marshall said.

"Every conversation I had with Mr. McClelland, he always volunteered he was never in that house," Marshall said.

After his arrest, McClelland initially denied involvement. Marshall and Trooper Louis Serafini asked McClelland about his finances. Their investigation had revealed that McClelland and his son had purchased guns and gambled thousands of dollars on several occasions immediately after burglaries at Stepko's house.

McClelland is unemployed and receives Social Security disability payments. His wife, Diane McClelland, works at a grocery store. The family paid cash for at least two cars currently in their names, police said.

Initially, McClelland said the money was proceeds from a 30-year career as a contractor. He indicated he underreported his income to the Internal Revenue Service and hid money in cans buried in his garden.

Eventually, McClelland admitted he had burglarized Stepko's home twice -- once stealing $31,000 and the second time taking $6,000, Marshall said.

McClelland's admissions came while he was being monitored for chest pains at Washington Hospital after his arrest.

Stepko's family declined to comment after the hearing but seemed visibly upset as Marshall detailed McClelland's claims about the woman's final moments.

"None of the statements explain why she had two separate stab wounds," Washington County Assistant District Attorney Michael Lucas said after the hearing. "Those statements are inconsistent with how Evelyn Stepko met her death, but they are consistent (in showing) David A. McClelland was involved.

"... I know she was capable of struggling with him, but I don't think she was capable of doing what he said she did," Lucas added.

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