Springdale native's confessed killer gets life in prison

The man who pleaded guilty to killing a former Springdale man in a jealous rage will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Samuel Tolfa, 34, of Hopewell, Beaver County, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder and serve a mandatory prison term of life without parole in connection with the Jan. 22, 2022, killing of Jorden Puskar, 21, a Springdale High graduate who dreamed of someday taking over his grandfather’s restaurant.

“The facts in this case are so shocking and so appalling,” said Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kelly Bigley. “I’m very, very sorry for the loss of this beautiful young man.”

Puskar, who had been living in Coraopolis before his death, had gone to visit a friend in Avalon the night he was killed. The friend, Ashley Marshall, told police she previously had been in a relationship with Tolfa and he was jealous of her friendship with Puskar.

Marshall testified Thursday that she and Puskar had picked out a movie to watch and made popcorn that night when Tolfa scaled her back porch, punched a hole through the door and broke into her apartment.

“Sam ambushed us,” she said.

Tolfa said, “You better call the cops,” and then he started shooting, Marshall testified.

Puskar put up his hands up to protect himself, but Tolfa fired six times, killing him, police said.

Tolfa then held the gun to her head, Marshall testified.

“I was begging for my life,” she said.

Tolfa left and was arrested a short time later following a police pursuit that started in Sewickley and ended at Tolfa’s mother’s home in Hopewell.

Tolfa told investigators he was at the restaurant where Marshall worked and wanted to talk with her about their relationship, but she said she wanted to go home and go to bed. Tolfa said he saw Puskar start to follow Marshall home from the restaurant and later found his car parked outside her apartment.

Tolfa told investigators he was angry that Marshall lied to him and he called to confront her. After the call ended, he broke into her apartment.

Marshall testified that her relationship with Tolfa was abusive, and she has been in therapy since the attack.

“I’ve learned I will never understand this type of evil,” she said.

Puskar’s grandmother, Donna Hyatt, held a white-framed photograph of him as she began her victim impact statement.

“You can see his bright eyes and his bright smile,” she said. “Jorden was a ray of light from the moment he was born. As he grew, so did his light.”

Puskar, who dreamed of someday taking over his grandfather’s restaurant, Carhops of Monroeville, earned the nickname “Flashlight” as a child.

He played tight end for the Springdale Dynamos football team, enjoyed spending time with his family, watching “Jeopardy!” with his mother and working on his Volkswagen Jetta.

Nicole Davies, Puskar’s mother, said her first-born child had a profound impact on every second of her existence and made her a better person.

She described Puskar as independent, loyal and responsible. Tolfa, she said, took away her son’s future.

“He robbed me of all the greatness laid ahead for him,” Davies said.

Davies said that when police came to her Coraopolis home on the night of Jan. 22, 2022, to notify her of the killing, she felt a primal scream rising inside of her. She said she suppressed the scream because she didn’t want to scare her younger son, who was sleeping in his room.

“Two years later,” Davies said, “that scream is still there.“

Tolfa’s defense attorney, Adam Reynolds, told the court he believes his client is truly remorseful.

“Our conversations are only about acceptance of responsibility and guilt,” Reynolds said.

Tolfa, who kept his head down throughout much of Thursday’s testimony, apologized.

“This eats away at me every day, and I think about it every night,” he said. “I know there’s nothing I can say to make your hearts less heavy, but please know I am truly sorry.”