In the winter of 2014, a tragic event unfolded in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, ending the life of 36-year-old Cheralynn Sabatasso. On the night of January 23rd, Sabatasso and her longtime boyfriend, Jason Eubanks, also 36, were shot and killed in what would be described as a drug deal gone wrong. The couple, who lived together in Mount Oliver with one of Sabatasso's daughters, were found deceased in her silver Lexus.
The man responsible for their deaths was Antoine Ward, an acquaintance of Eubanks. According to Ward's own account to homicide detectives, he had arranged to buy cocaine from Eubanks that night with the intention of reselling it. However, the situation escalated when Ward admitted he did not have the money for the transaction. An argument ensued as the three of them drove through Knoxville, with Sabatasso at the wheel.
Ward claimed that Eubanks became angry and pulled out a gun. A struggle for the weapon followed, during which Sabatasso was accidentally shot in the head. As she hit the brakes, the chaos continued, and Eubanks was shot twice in the head. After the car crashed at the intersection of Grimes and Zara streets, Ward fled the scene, discarding the weapon and his bloodied clothing.
Following an investigation, Antoine Ward was arrested and charged with two counts of homicide. During his trial, the prosecution presented a videotaped interview where Ward detailed the events of that night, though he maintained that the shootings were in self-defense. In October 2015, a jury rejected his claim of self-defense and convicted him of first-degree murder for the death of Cheralynn Sabatasso and third-degree murder for the death of Jason Eubanks. Ward was subsequently sentenced for the killings and remains in the Allegheny County Jail.
