On a December 2019 evening, in a wooded area just north of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, two men were out hunting whitetail deer. The tranquility of the dusk was shattered by the discharge of a rifle, a sound that would tragically alter the course of both of their lives. 42-year-old Mahlon Osterhout, a male from Tyrone, was fatally wounded in what would later be determined by state police to be a hunting accident.
His hunting companion that day was 56-year-old John J. Markel, also of Tyrone.
According to the investigation that followed, Markel had fired at a doe from a distance of about 75 yards. Unsure if he had successfully hit the deer, he began to track it. It was during this time that he saw movement in some dense brush and, believing it to be the deer, fired his weapon again.
After shooting, Markel followed a blood trail that led him to the downed deer. He started to field-dress the animal, but a growing sense of unease settled in when he was unable to get a response from Osterhout on their walkie-talkie. It was then that Markel went in search of his friend, a search that ended in a devastating discovery. He found Osterhout with a gunshot wound to his neck and not breathing. In a state of panic, Markel ran to Route 453 to get help.
The subsequent investigation by the Pennsylvania Game Commission led to charges being filed against John J. Markel. He faced a misdemeanor count of shooting at and killing another person while hunting, along with summary charges of unlawful taking of big game and consuming alcohol on public land managed by the Game Commission. The investigation revealed that alcohol was a factor, as state police found beer cans in Markel's vehicle. It was also noted in the charges that Osterhout had both alcohol and drugs in his system at the time of his death. Markel was formally charged via a summons and was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of a Magisterial District Judge.
