SMITH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — State police said they’ve arrested two men, including the victim’s ex-boyfriend, in the deadly shooting of a mother during a home invasion in Washington County last month.
Police said Renee Gill, 37, was shot and killed in June after confronting two masked men who broke into her home overnight. According to investigators, the suspects, identified as Michael “Coury” Pyles and Walter Winland, planned to burglarize her home but ended up shooting Gill and her son, who tried to intervene.
Gill died at the scene. Her son was shot in the hand and survived.
Detectives say Walter Winland had recently moved out of Gill’s home, and they’d been in a relationship.
According to police, the situation escalated quickly once Gill confronted the intruders, who were reportedly there to steal drugs.
“In a heightened scenario like that, things can go south really fast when greed or time take over, and that altercation really started to escalate,” said Trooper Rocco Gagliardi. “Time was of the essence… greed of taking more and more items led to the bigger altercation, switching over to the homicide.”
Investigators say the lengthy criminal complaint includes text messages Winland sent to Gill the day before the murder, including one where he told her he loved her.
Detectives say those texts and social media evidence were key in solving the case so quickly.
State police emphasized during the press conference that the public was never in danger after the incident.
Both Pyles and Winland remain in custody, facing charges including homicide, attempted homicide, burglary, conspiracy and more.
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