On a summer evening in Pylesville, Maryland, the tranquility of the 1700 block of Scott Road was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the lives of two men and a family dog. On July 1, 2023, 70-year-old David Joseph Octavec, a male resident of Pylesville, was fatally shot. Another Pylesville resident, 62-year-old Timothy Wayne Witherite, also lost his life in the shooting.
The Harford County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 8:49 p.m.
and discovered both men suffering from gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. Both Octavec and Witherite, along with a dog belonging to the family, were pronounced dead at the scene. The initial investigation suggested that Witherite was shot inside the residence, while Octavec was shot outside.
Within about two hours of the incident, a suspect was taken into custody by the Pennsylvania State Police. The suspect was identified as 53-year-old Steven M. Nolan of Pennsylvania. At the time of his arrest, the motive for the shooting was still under investigation.
Following his apprehension in Pennsylvania, Harford County Sheriff's Office detectives obtained a warrant for Nolan's arrest. He was held in a Pennsylvania jail as he awaited extradition to Maryland to face charges related to the double homicide. The specific charges to be filed against Nolan in Maryland were not immediately detailed pending his extradition. There have been no publicly available updates on the legal proceedings against Steven M. Nolan since his initial arrest and pending extradition.
