State Police are saying that a man charged with setting a fire at his home in Hempfield is now facing charges of beating his father to death prior to setting that fire.
The Tribune-Review reports that police have charged 40-year-old Douglas Novak with beating his father Frank to death with his own hands and other blunt objects, killing him before setting the fire on December 20th. When investigators were called out to the fire, they found Frank Novak dead in bed.
State Police fire marshals had ruled the fire an arson, and Douglas Novak had been in Westmoreland County Jail on the arson charges. The county coroner has not ruled yet on the cause and manner of death.
