Facebook Marketplace Seller Stabs Nurse to Death in Argument Over Price of Refrigerator: Police

A nurse has been stabbed to death in an argument over the price of a refrigerator, police in Pennsylvania have claimed.

Denise Williams, 54, was killed on Monday after responding to an advertisement on Facebook Marketplace, as she sought to buy a gift for her boyfriend.

26-year-old Joshua Gorgone was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, WJAC reported.

Williams was reported missing by her family on Monday evening, telling officers they could not contact her, which they said was very unusual. By tracking her phone and using crucial Facebook information provided by the family, investigators quickly located her body at an apartment in Geistown.

Speaking together at a press conference Wednesday, Geistown Borough Police Chief Nicholas Zakucia, District Attorney Greg Neugebauer and Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees were all visibly moved by the violent death in what was a very quiet town.

"Based on our investigation thus far, she went there to look at a refrigerator that she found on Facebook Marketplace," Neugebauer said. "Some information from the family is she was looking to purchase the fridge for her boyfriend, actually. As a present."

"She went there to look at a fridge, and never came out, unfortunately."

According to court documents seen by the broadcaster, Gorgone confessed that an argument had broken out over the price of the fridge, after which he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her several times.

"She did put up one heck of a fight," Lee said, confirming she had suffered several defensive wounds. "This was a violent death that she sustained."

Investigators nor the family believe the suspect and the victim knew each other before their Facebook interaction.

Neugebauer begged Facebook users to be cautious when meeting strangers to buy or sell.

"Use caution when you're dealing with anybody or anything involving purchasing something through the internet, meeting up with someone," he warned. "Don't go alone. Don't invite someone to your house alone to look at something. Always have someone with you or if possible, meet in a public or well-lit place."

Zakucia agreed it was "never a good idea" to go to a stranger's home, or invite one into yours.

"Public place. Meet with more than one person. You never know what you're going to walk into," he said.

The police chief had tears in his eyes as he lamented the loss of someone who had dedicated her life to helping people.

"When you lose someone like this or have incidents of this nature, it's a shock to us all. The residents of Geistown are safe," he choked. "This was unfortunate; it was a tough scene. It was a tough call for myself and my officers."

Gorgone is being held at the Cambria County Prison, where he was denied bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.

In 2013, Denise Williams' then 38-year-old relative Bobby Williams was murdered at his home just minutes away, in what was at the time the quiet township's first homicide in 20 years; the case remains unsolved.

Neugebauer insisted there was no connection, describing the fact as a "horrible gut-wrenching coincidence that just adds a level of pain to the family that is unimaginable."