Pennsylvania State Police investigators with additional search warrants worked into the evening on Monday, scouring for more evidence inside a small East Butler home where a man was found killed Saturday morning.

The victim, Jim Martin's, own home security cameras positioned inside and outside the home may provide important leads.

"Some people have been talking about it. He did have a surveillance system inside and outside the residence," acknowledged Lt. Eric Hermick, state police crime section commander. "At this point we're still processing it and analyzing it, so I'm going to err on the side of caution and we're going to hold that information until we review it thoroughly."

Martin, a 74-year-old a former sheriff's deputy in Ohio who worked as a dog law officer and respected AKC dog show judge, was found dead by a friend Saturday morning when she arrived for their planned breakfast meeting.
Victim: Jim Martin

"There are signs of struggle. There's defensive wounds and it's a pretty brutal crime scene," said Hermick, who also described the scene as "complex" and "dynamic."

There are signs someone searched through Martin's home and there is blood evidence from an attack that apparently went from room to room.

"I can tell you there are stab wounds and there are some contusions about the body, so we are obviously looking at an impact weapon and maybe a sharp object," Hermick said. "We're not divulging the number of wounds at this point. I can tell you there's multiple wounds to the body." He said that included defensive wounds on the victim.

Martin's home was burglarized in November. A suspect in that previous case was arrested Sunday. Cody Ray Howard was questioned about Martin's killing but no one has been charged in the death.
Cody Ray Howard

"He's currently incarcerated in the county prison right now," said Hermick who also said, "We have not ruled anybody out as a suspect in this case." He noted, "We have not listed anybody as a person of interest or as a suspect in this case at this time. We are pursuing some evidence and hopefully what we're processing today will give us some better insight on that."

Some neighbors had thought they heard gunfire the night before Martin was found dead. Police say there's no evidence of shots being fired.

"What they heard wasn't gunfire," Hermick said. "In fact, we believe it was just a noise, a loud banging that was going on," that was related to the case."

"We're just asking if anybody had any contact with this gentleman prior to his death that knows anything about it to reach out to us, because every little bit of information is important at this point," Hermick said.

State police can be reached at their Butler barracks at 724-284-8100.
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