On a Tuesday evening in late February, the quiet of a Penn Hills neighborhood was broken by a discovery that sent a ripple of sorrow through the community. Inside a residence on Conestoga Road, police officers, responding to a request for a welfare check on February 28, 2023, found the bodies of 62-year-old Rosemary Washington and her 63-year-old husband, Thomas Washington Sr. The discovery was made around 6:40 p.m., and it soon became clear that this was a scene of a profound tragedy.
Rosemary Washington, an African American female, was found to have died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office officially ruled Rosemary's death a homicide. As investigators from the Allegheny County Police Department's Homicide Unit pieced together the events that led to the grim discovery, a sorrowful narrative emerged. The evidence at the scene pointed towards a murder-suicide. It was determined that Thomas Washington Sr. had fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. His death was found to be consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In the wake of this devastating event, there was no search for outside suspects, as authorities concluded that the perpetrator was Thomas Washington Sr. The investigation, therefore, did not lead to any arrests. The case highlighted a tragic instance of domestic violence, leaving family, friends, and the wider Penn Hills community to mourn the loss of Rosemary Washington. Family and friends gathered to remember her, with a visitation held on March 10, 2023, followed by a funeral service the next day at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. She was laid to rest at Greenwood Cemetery, leaving behind memories of a life cut short by violence.
