Wife tried to commit Calumet suspect week before slaying
A month before police say Raymond Piper Jr. fatally shot a good Samaritan in Mt. Pleasant Township, he heard voices and threatened to jump from the roof of his Calumet home, his wife said Friday.
"We were trying to get Ray committed a week before the (shooting) incident," said Janet Piper, 37, who was shot and wounded.
Janet Piper said personnel at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital declared that Raymond Piper, 36, did not meet the legal criteria to be admitted against his will after the rooftop incident.
Robin Jennings, director of communications for Excela Health, would neither confirm nor deny Janet Piper's account.
State police persuaded Raymond Piper to come off the roof of the two-story home, and he was taken to the hospital.
"He kept crying out for help, but we didn't know what kind of help to give him. Nobody would help us," Janet Piper said. "He would pray a lot, because demons were talking to him, like the episode on the roof."
Janet Piper said she and Raymond discussed renewing their wedding vows on Tuesday when he suddenly went into a rage.
"All of a sudden, he snapped," Janet Piper said. "I don't know what happened. He stood up and looked out the window."
Police said Raymond Piper shot his wife in the face and their daughter, KarenAnne, 16, in the neck. He killed Stacey Feiling, 42, of Mt. Pleasant Township, a passing motorist, police said.
Feiling stopped to help Janet Piper, who ran outside to escape her husband, police said.
Janet Piper said she flagged down Feiling to ask her to call police. She said she is sad about Feiling's death.
"I'm not in a state of mind to comment on that," she said.
Janet Piper said she and her daughter returned to their home after hospital treatment and were reunited with the Pipers' other two children.
A neighbor who surrendered custody of her two children to the Pipers said she would not have consented if she had known about Raymond Piper's criminal record.
Christine Stairs, 31, of Calumet said she is fighting to regain custody of one child, who lived with the Pipers when the shootings occurred.
"I had no idea of his background," Stairs said.
Judge John Driscoll on Thursday appointed a guardian for the girl, who is in the care of the Westmoreland County Children's Bureau.
Piper's criminal record escaped scrutiny of child welfare officers because the children were placed through a consensual custody agreement with Stairs, according to court records.
Since the early 1990s, Piper has convictions for arson in Oklahoma, and corruption of minors, theft and conspiracy in Westmoreland County.
Piper was granted custody of Stairs' children in 2008, despite his criminal record and deep debts, according to court records. He owed $28,000 on a vehicle that cost $31,000 and listed $13,000 in credit card debt. The Pipers filed for bankruptcy in 2000, according to records in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh.
Driscoll said the Pipers were not foster parents in the traditional sense.
"There never was any hearing," he said. "There never was any vetting. They are not formally approved as foster parents. They obtained the child through consensual custody arrangement. There was no file on the case."
Michael Race, a spokesman for the Department of Public Welfare, said the Pipers were not registered with the Resource Family Registry, a database of foster parents vetted and approved as surrogate parents.
"Since they were outside the foster-care system, we wouldn't be involved in that," Race said.
Normally, Driscoll said, the Children's Bureau conducts background checks on potential foster parents, and an independent agency such as Adelphoi Village handles placement.
According to the Pipers' custody petition, the Children's Bureau removed the children from the Stairs because of a relative's allegations of abuse. Shara Saveikis, director of the Children's Bureau, did not respond to requests for comment.
Judge Anthony Marsili, who signed the custody order, said he couldn't recall specifics of the case. He said when questions arise about the background of someone involved a custody case, one of the attorneys will raise the issue.
"A judge won't know anything unless the judge feels something that comes out during the hearing should be reported," he said. "That's how normally it's brought to the attention of the court."
Piper lost his right leg in an accident four years ago and was receiving $2,045 a month in government benefits, according to a financial statement filed with the court. That included $555 in Social Security benefits, $804 in disability, $400 in disability for his children, and $286 in food stamps.
Stairs said she was suffering from an undisclosed illness when she asked the Pipers for help.
In April, she went to court to regain custody, claiming her children were unhappy. Her attorney told the court Stairs recovered from her illness, according to the petition.
Stairs said the Pipers returned one child in February because Raymond Piper said he didn't want to care for the boy any longer.
"Out of the blue, Ray called and said he couldn't handle the boy any more, but (the Children's Bureau) wouldn't let me have my daughter," she said.
Piper claimed to operate an online dating service called admiredlove.com. In his biography on the site, Piper said he was interested in "serious relationships." He described himself as a Christian, a social drinker and "very funny."
