Preliminary hearing held for Justin Schuback in Baron homicide investigation

LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The man accused of killing well-known Lackawanna County businessman Robert Baron is in court Thursday facing a slew of charges.

37-year-old Justin Schuback is accused of robbing and killing 58-year-old Robert Baron Senior , the owner of Ghigiarelli’s Pizza on South Main Street in Old Forge in January 2017.

The preliminary hearing is underway in Lackawanna County. Shuback is charged with homicide, robbery, burglary, and abuse of a corpse. Baron went missing on the night of January 25th of 2017 after closing up his restaurant, Ghigiarelli’s Pizza on South Main Street in Old Forge.

Investigators say Schuback was on their radar from day one. Detectives say that DNA evidence and cell phone records helped lead to the arrest. In recent weeks Baron’s skeletal remains were found in a wooded area in Old Forge.

A State Police forensics investigator testified about what they found inside Baron’s restaurant the night he was killed. The trooper said they found blood throughout the restaurant, blood splatter on the wall, and a cleaning bucket that had blood on it and in it.

Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland testified that the remains found at Pagnotti Park were those of Robert Baron.

A DNA expert testified Thursday and said that the blood inside the restaurant belonged to Baron. That expert also testified that Schuback’s DNA was found inside Baron’s car on the driver’s side door and steering wheel.

It’s standing room only in the courtroom. Robert Baron’s family is there as is Justin Schuback’s family. I-Team reporter Andy Mehalshick will have more updates on the preliminary hearing in Lackawanna County coming up in a live report on Eyewitness News at noon on WYOU.

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