Daily News Staff Writer
Police in northern Oklahoma were led on a high-speed chase Wednesday night by a man Tyrone Borough Police have labeled a “person of interest” in connection with the murder of a young Tyrone boy. Wednesday night, authorities from the Blackwell Police Department, Blackwell, Okla., brought Nathan Shaw, 25, Tyrone, into custody after Shaw lost control of and crashed the red Nissan Sentra he had driven more than half-way across the United States.
“We were notified about 6 p.m. last night that the individual had been apprehended,” explained Tyrone Borough Police Chief Joe Beachem, who’s heading up the murder investigation. “We’ll be meeting with the district attorney this morning to go over the evidence in the case and we’ll move on from there.
“At this point, (Shaw) is still being considered a ‘person of interest,’ but we absolutely believe that once we have the chance to review the evidence, charges will be filed.”
The Nissan Shaw was driving, reported “stolen” by Tyrone police, belongs to the mother of 6-year-old Jarod Klein, the boy stabbed to death late Monday night. Shaw is wanted for questioning regarding the death and also for the brutal beating of the boy’s mother, Christina Muoio.
Tyrone police responded to a “weapons call” Monday night shortly after 10 p.m. to 1550 Pennsylvania Avenue, an apartment in the Tyrone Townshouses residential development. When police arrived, young Jarod lay dead of a single stab wound to the neck, his mother was badly beaten and her car was missing.
Shaw, reportedly Muoio’s ex-boyfriend, has still yet to be named a suspect in the attacks, even though he was driving Muoio’s stolen car, heading southwest, cross-country.
Police officials in Blackwell said they observed the out-of-state license plate on a car which matched the description of a vehicle reported stolen by Tyrone police on the National Crime Information Center data base. At the time, a Blackwell patrolman was responding to a report of a “suspicious vehicle,” parked in a church parking lot.
Blackwell Police assistant chief Joe Ball told The Daily News Thursday morning that a request for a driver’s license is apparently what prompted Shaw to take off.
“The individual was brought to our attention when a local resident reported a vehicle with out-of-state tags parked in the parking lot of one of our churches,” Ball explained. “One of our officers went to investigate and found the individual sleeping in the car.
“The officer woke him up and asked him for identification, at which time, Mr. Shaw started his car and took off.”
Ball said the officer gave chase and was assisted by several other police units. A roughly seven-mile chase, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph, ended when one of Shaw’s tires blew out and he crashed into a bridge.
“He took off on foot and we were able to apprehend him,” Ball said. “He was somewhat combative and initially resisted arrest when he was told to get on the ground, but he eventually complied with our orders.
“Since he’s been in custody, he hasn’t said a lot. He’s just been sitting in his cell, very quiet, giving a ‘stare-down’ look.”
Ball said Shaw was taken this morning to the county seat in Newkirk, Okla., where he has apparently waived extradition.
Only weeks prior to the gruesome events of Monday evening, Shaw had been released from state prison. The reason for this incarceration is unclear; however, according to court documents, he has an extensive criminal record, which includes arrests for simple assault, aggravated assault and other drug-related charges.
Shaw was placed under arrest in Blackwell for a parole violation, a warrant for which was issued in Blair County Court.
According to reports, Muoio and Shaw have a 2-year-old daughter, who was with her mother and brother at the apartment the night of the attacks. The girl was not harmed. Muoio remains hospitalized, recovering from injuries she sustained Monday night.
Police have confirmed that Klein was not Shaw’s son.
Oklahoma authorities will extradite Shaw to Pennsylvania on the parole-violation warrant, and, according to Blair County District Attorney David Gorman’s office, Attorney Richard Consiglio, Hollidaysburg, will head up the extradition process.
NATHAN T. SHAW
Mugshot courtesy of the Blackwell (Oklahoma) Police Department
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