Police are searching for a Mt. Oliver man they allege beat his parents after they came to visit from Florida and then took off in their SUV.
Joshua Roth, 41, is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and theft in connection with the assaults earlier this month.
Allegheny County police initially said Tuesday that Roth had simply been missing since his mother, 61, and father, 63, were found May 18. They’d arrived that day from Jacksonville, police said, to help their son clean his apartment.
According to the criminal complaint, paramedics responded to a Brownsville Road apartment about 9:40 p.m. for reports of a woman “that had possibly fallen and was bleeding.” The paramedics called police, noting the woman’s story “seemed ‘weird.’” The man, Roth’s father, was found “bleeding profusely” in the apartment.
Roth’s father told police at the hospital he had no memory of the assault, according to the complaint. Roth’s mother required a breathing tube and could not be questioned for several days. She, too, told police she had no memory of what happened.
Police said both suffered severe face and neck injuries.
Investigators said security footage from the Brownsville Road apartment building showed Roth’s parents arriving shortly after noon May 18 in their gold Nissan Infinity SUV. Roth meets them outside, according to the complaint, and they all go inside by about 12:19 p.m.
The footage shows Roth leaving the apartment just after 1:20 p.m., according to the complaint. He left in the Nissan and never returned to the apartment. His parents’ cell phones and wallets were missing from the apartment.
Police said the Nissan’s license plate was recorded just after 4 p.m. that day in East Pittsburgh. Using his mother’s iPad, police tried to locate her cell phone, according to the complaint. The Find My iPhone app showed its location as hear Altoona, though local police could not find the phone. As of Tuesday, police said, the app showed the phone in the same location.
Investigators said they received a tip Tuesday that the gold Nissan was caught on a license plate reader in Brooklyn.
Police are searching for Roth and the Nissan with Florida plates (PIRQ02). Anyone who sees Roth or the vehicle should call 911, investigators said. Anyone with information can contact the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477).
