SALEM TOWNSHIP - It was the second incident in Wayne County, Pa. in two days involving a fatal shooting and a heavy State Police response, with circumstance quite different. The second case concerned a murder-suicide at 171 Eisenhauer Road in Salem Township.

In this incident, the investigation pointed to a man, William Rowan, who shot and killed his former girlfriend and her current boy friend, and then turned the gun on himself.

The following information was released by Trooper Mark Keyes.

Tuesday night, June 26, at 8:25 p.m. members from the Honesdale and Blooming Grove stations responded to a private residence located on Eisenhauer Road.

Multiple gunshots heard

Neighbors contacted Wayne County 911 after hearing arguing and multiple gunshots from the house next door.

Troopers responded and subsequently observed Carrie Martini, age 45, lying on the ground just outside the front door, deceased with an apparent gunshot wound to the upper torso. Neighbors reported that they believed that the individual Martini had been arguing with was her ex-boyfriend, William Rowen, age 60, from Bidwell Hill Road, Lake Ariel.

Martini and the actor recently ended their relationship, and Martini recently began dating an individual identified as Dale Thomas, 61. The address for Thomas was given as Canaan Road in Waymart.

Upon arrival of the PA State Police, contact was unable to be made with the actor, and a perimeter was established around the residence. The PA State Police Special Emergency Response Team was activated and subsequently made entry into the residence. All three individuals were located deceased.

Through the investigation, it was determined that Rowen appeared at Martini’s residence earlier in the evening and confronted her and Thomas. State Police said that during the confrontation, Rowen shot and killed both Thomas and Martini. The actor then committed suicide by shooting himself.

The investigation is still ongoing.

Coroner Edward Howell said that autopsies will be performed later in the week.

Martial arts master

Carrie Martini was a martial arts master and instructor who used her skills to train women in self-defense.

“She was a very hard worker. She was tough… she competed very hard,” recalled Tom Wasylyk, who was Martini’s martial arts instructor for over 10 years at The Masters Tang Soo Do in Hawley.

She had achieved her Third Degree Black Belt and was on her way to her Fourth Degree Masters, when she quit training about seven or eight years ago, Wasylyk, who is a 7th Degree Masters Instructor, said. Martini instructed beginning students, up to Red Belt at one of Wasylyk’s schools.

He stated that he had also instructed Bill Rowen in martial arts; Rowen went as far as Red Belt.

Martini’s Facebook page states that she was also president and manager of Yard Art Landscaping. She graduated from Western Wayne High School and studied fine arts at Kutztown University.

Two days after Prompton

This incident came two days after the shooting in Prompton Borough where a man, James Sorrentino, had fired upon two family members in the early morning. The family members escaped unharmed and contacted 9-1-1. State Police surrounded the home and negotiated for a peaceful surrender through the night while Sorrentino repeatedly pointed guns towards the police. The standoff ended after Sorrentino is described as having fired his weapon at the troopers; State Police returned fire, killing him. The fatal shooting is under investigation. (A separate story about this incident is found in this edition.)