Handyman Charged With Killing Missing Whitehall Woman

WHITEHALL, PA - The handyman who long has been the suspect in the disappearance of a Whitehall woman who vanished in April has been charged with killing her.

Douglas Berry, 48, is charged with homicide in the death of Elizabeth Wisenfeld, 67. He also has been charged with burglary, access device fraud, receiving stolen property and two counts of theft.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said at a news conference Thursday that money appeared to be the motive for the slaying.

Berry, in jail since May on an unrelated weapons charge, has been described in court documents as the "prime suspect in a missing persons case." Berry, of Liberty Borough, worked as a handyman for Wisenfeld.

Wisenfeld was reported missing by her daughter on April 30. Police found blood in Wiesenfeld's bed and say a masked person used Wisenfeld's ATM at a PNC Bank following her disappearance.

Investigators searched a large wooded area near Liberty, Lincoln and Glassport boroughs but turned up nothing.