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DUBOIS, Pa. (AP) — A 6-year-old boy covered in blood told officers "Joe killed my mommy" when they arrived at a home after a 911 call, police said in a complaint charging the suspect.
Police in DuBois were dispatched after the hang-up call at about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday and found 33-year-old Nicole Snyder dead with stab wounds to her neck.
Based on the boy's utterance and other evidence, police obtained a warrant for 35-year-old Joseph Fields. He was captured in some woods at about 6 p.m. Tuesday after a manhunt in Elk and Clearfield counties.
Fields was arraigned Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder, criminal homicide and aggravated assault and was sent to the Clearfield County Prison without bond. In Pennsylvania, judges are not allowed to set bail for first-degree murder and homicide charges in most circumstances.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Fields, who faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 2.
County Coroner Michael Morris said Snyder's jugular vein was lacerated, among other wounds.
Snyder's son wasn't physically injured. He has been placed with relatives.
The 15-hour manhunt for Fields prompted lockdowns at some schools, and afterschool sporting events and other activities were canceled as far away as Kane, about an hour north of where Fields was arrested near Penfield.
Fields' vehicle was found abandoned in that area earlier Tuesday, prompting police to concentrate their search using dogs, all-terrain vehicles, a helicopter and roughly 50 local and state police officers.
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