Inset: Pamela Puskar (McCabe Funeral Home). Background: Glenn Whittier being escorted to a law enforcement vehicle (WTAE/YouTube).
In Pennsylvania, a man is facing allegations of fatally stabbing a woman in her home after she rebuffed his sexual advances.
Glenn Whittier, aged 54, has been charged with criminal homicide and evidence tampering concerning the death of Pamela Puskar, who was 59 years old. This was confirmed by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, as reported in a recent announcement.
Authorities report that Whittier spent Friday evening with a friend at Loyalhanna Apartments in Latrobe.
At some point, Puskar entered the friend’s apartment looking for her own friend, and Whittier asked her for cigarettes, Pittsburgh-based ABC affiliate WTAE reported.
It is alleged that Whittier followed Puskar to her apartment, proposing they engage in sexual activity—a suggestion she rejected.
As Friday night transitioned into the early hours of Saturday, Whittier’s friend contacted him. According to court records, Whittier implied he was intending to engage in a sexual encounter with Puskar, information which was reported by The Tribune-Review.
During this call, Puskar could be heard in the background, firmly stating, “You’re not touching me,” as noted in the police reports.
Later that morning, phone calls to Puskar and knocks on her door went unanswered. Finally, on Sunday at about 8 a.m., entry was made into her apartment, where she was found dead in her kitchen.
Investigators believe Whittier killed her on Saturday morning.
Surveillance footage captured Whittier leaving the Loyalhanna Apartments at approximately 7 a.m. on Saturday morning carrying a Ginger Ale box and with his hood tied tight around his face, according to the district attorney’s office.
An autopsy performed on Puskar determined she was stabbed multiple times and died as a result of homicide. Whittier was arrested on Wednesday, and, while being led to a law enforcement vehicle, had some words for inquiring reporters.
“Do you believe you’re innocent?” a reporter asked the suspect. “Yes,” he replied, according to WTAE.
“What were you doing in Ms. Puskar’s apartment?” another journalist asked.
“No comment,” he responded.
“Did you know Ms. Puskar, and if so, how?” the first reporter asked.
“That was the very first time we met through a friend,” he said back.
Whittier was arraigned on Wednesday and denied bail.
He is expected back in court on Dec. 8.
The defendant reportedly previously served time in prison for two assaults on women. In one of the cases, in 2015, he was accused of holding a woman captive for days, beating her with a hammer and pouring bleach into her eyes.
Court records show Whittier pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge in 2016 and was sentenced to between 2 and 5 years in prison.
An obituary for Puskar says she died “as a result of an act of terrible violence.”
She is remembered as being a member of the Latrobe Ladies Auxiliary American Legion Post #515 and for loving to do crossword puzzles.
