Police ID woman killed in Jackson Township

Update

York County Coroner Pam Gay has identified the woman killed Friday in Jackson Township as Diana Ziegler, 25. Gay also classified the investigation as "domestic-related homicide." See Gay's public release on the investigation here.

Previously reported

A woman was killed Friday afternoon with a "scimitar-style" sword after her husband attacked her inside a home in Jackson Township, according to Northern York County Regional Police.

The woman's husband, John Ziegler III, 31, called 911 and reported that he had struck his wife with the sword, killing her, police said. The woman's name was not released late Friday night. Police said she was 25 years old. She was pregnant, and the unborn child also died.

Scimitar swords typically have a curved blade.

The woman was found on an outdoor deck to the rear of the home, police said. She had "multiple" fatal injuries, the York County Coroner's Office said.

Ziegler lived at the home, which sits at the edge of a cul-de-sac in the 1100 block of Ledge Drive in the townhomes of the Jackson Heights development, police said.

A 2-year-old child was the only other person in the home, Lt. David Lash said. The child was not injured and is now in custody of children and youth services, police said.

When he called 911, Ziegler said he was waiting with his 2-year-old son for police to arrive, according to police.

Police continue to investigate the incident. Ziegler was taken to York County's Central Booking to be charged in the homicide of both his wife and her unborn child, police said. He is expected to be arraigned Saturday morning.

“What led to it and what occurred during it, that’s still under investigation,” Lash said of the killing.

Chrystal Bixler, who lives up Ledge Drive, said she was returning home from work when she saw several police cars go toward the home.

"Next thing I know, the (caution) tape was going up. That's definitely not good," she said.

She said she could see police take a man into custody and take hold of the child, both of whom were outside. Lash said the man “surrendered to the first arriving officer.”

Bixler and several residents of the development described the neighborhood as being quiet.

The Stone Ledge Park sits across the cul-de-sac from where the attack happened. There is a playground, basketball court, track to walk on and a pavilion.

In the summer, neighbors fill the park and are friendly with each other, said Cheryl Brunner, who lives only three or four homes up on Ledge Drive.

“For something like this to happen, it’s shocking,” she said.

Brunner was not home at the time of the attack, but returned home to police cars and closed roads. Police had stretched caution tape across the cul-de-sac and directly in front of the home. One Northern York County Regional Police cruiser, likely one of the first to arrive, had pulled onto the grass in between homes and stopped there.

Officers along with the York County Coroner’s Office were going in and out of the home. At one point, a man removed a car seat from a vehicle near the home. Around that time – roughly 6 p.m. – officials went into the back of an ambulance parked in the street. A man carried out a child who was wrapped in a blanket and walked away, up Ledge Drive, and could be heard quietly talking to the child.

Brunner, along with neighbor Antonio Solis, both said the people who lived in the home only moved in within the last couple of months.

By 7:34 p.m., police had cleared the scene.

An autopsy for the woman has been scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital, the coroner's office said.

This is the second death in the past five months for the Jackson Township community. Susan Hoke, 50, was fatally shot by her estranged husband, Scott, on Sept. 12 at her home in the 1200 block of Summit Run Court, which is across Route 116. Scott Hoke took his own life, police said.

Northern York County Regional Police continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department by calling 717-292-3647, messaging its Facebook page or through its website.