Fugitive suspect in Maryland murder and arson case arrested in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH, PA — A defendant who shot a woman in Kitzmiller, Maryland, and then set her home on fire was arrested by Pittsburgh police Tuesday.

Nikolas Patrick James, 46, was arrested without incident around 3 p.m. in the 1100 block of Banksville Road on a BOLO from the Garrett County Sheriff's Office.

Officers responded to a home in Kitzmiller, about two hours from Pittsburgh, on Wednesday for a report of a homicide and arson. They found Juanita Katherine James, 70, dead of a gunshot wound.

After an investigation, James, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree arson, and use of a firearm in the commission of a serious felony.

James is currently being held in Pittsburgh awaiting extradition to Maryland.