Craig Bradshaw Rhodes-Mitchell, a 24-year-old male from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was killed on the night of January 27, 2018, inside an apartment building on Centennial Street. His body was discovered inside a home in the 1300 block of Centennial Street, with reports placing the scene at 1309 Centennial Street. Police initially responded after a gunshot was reported inside the apartment building, and when officers arrived they found Rhodes-Mitchell unresponsive. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene or a short time later. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.
In the first weeks after the killing, the case was publicly treated as unsolved. Investigators said Rhodes-Mitchell had been found on the third floor of the Centennial Street apartment building, and witnesses reported hearing a single gunshot followed by the sound of someone running down the stairs. Authorities asked the public for help, and a reward of up to $1,000 was offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible. Tipsters were allowed to remain anonymous as police tried to piece together who had entered the building, what had happened inside the apartment, and why Rhodes-Mitchell had been shot.
The investigation later led Allegheny County detectives to Elijah Price, an 18-year-old from Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood. In September 2018, roughly eight months after Rhodes-Mitchell was killed, police arrested Price without incident. He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and held without bond. Authorities charged him with criminal homicide, robbery, and recklessly endangering another person in connection with Rhodes-Mitchell’s death.
Police said text messages helped lead them to Price. According to reports describing the criminal complaint, Price contacted a witness soon after the shooting and asked the witness to check Facebook to see whether there was anything about Craig. The witness later told investigators that Price confessed to killing Rhodes-Mitchell that night. The same witness reportedly said Price came to the witness’s home afterward and handed over a bag of cash and a large package of marijuana to keep safe for him.
Investigators also tied the marijuana allegedly given to the witness back to Rhodes-Mitchell’s apartment. According to the complaint described in news reports, the bag of marijuana was consistent with a Ziploc bag sealing machine found in Rhodes-Mitchell’s apartment. That detail became part of the robbery theory behind the homicide: Rhodes-Mitchell was shot in his own apartment, and afterward, police alleged that Price left with cash and marijuana connected to the victim’s residence.
After Price’s arrest, court documents showed a preliminary hearing was scheduled for September 28, 2018. The available online reporting identifies Price as the suspect arrested and charged in the case, but it does not provide confirmed details of a later trial outcome, conviction, plea, acquittal, or sentencing.
