Joseph Zvara is being charged with killing Robert Friend. The two shared a drink before Friend’s body was found beaten in the woods.
“It was basically a physical beating that, unfortunately, Mr. Friend took at the hands of, at that point in time, an unknown human,” Trooper Steve Limani said.
State police began investigating Robert Friend’s death as a homicide a week after his body was found with broken fingers, wounds to the face, and wearing only a t-shirt and underwear.
Now, new details reveal Zvara showed up to the Sheetz on Harvey Road after a friend spoke with Zvara’s son earlier in the day.
“It appears there was some type of verbal exchange, and it appears that is what created this feeling for Mr. Zvara to drive down to Sheetz,” said Trooper Limani.
Police said he pulled into pump one and then immediately started walking towards Friend, who was sitting at a table.
He then intimidatingly stood over Friend so that he couldn’t get up and eventually walked him to his car.
Police paperwork said he then took Friend here, to Pizza Siena, where they shared a drink and got into an argument over the military, according to police.
A bartender then asked the two men to leave. Police gathered text messages saying, Friend insulted Zvara’s son so he was going to, “deal with him” where there weren’t cameras and that he would, “never come back after that night.”
Zvara has nearly 20 criminal dockets and was out on parole when he was arrested. According to police, he did not know Friend before the night of the murder.
Pizza Siena was the last place Friend was seen. Police later tracked Zvara’s phone to the state game lands, where Friend’s body was found.
Zvara will appear in court on November 17. He’s being held at the Westmoreland County Jail without bail..
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
