Police arrest son for murder of retired IUP professor, cite mental health issues

Feb. 20--Police have arrested the son of a retired Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor on charges he beat her to death early Friday morning.

Ruth Shirey, 72, a longtime geography professor, was found unconscious with head and face trauma in her Diamond Avenue home just after 3 a.m., according to police.

Todd Royce Walters, 36, was arrested without incident in Logan Township, Blair County, at 11:32 a.m., after police tracked his cellphone to the location.

Walters has mental health issues and lived with his mother, police said in a criminal complaint.

A male caller to Indiana County 911 at 3:02 a.m. reported a burglary and assault on a woman at 680 Diamond Ave., and borough police were dispatched, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers found Shirey lying unconscious on a bathroom floor. There was no sign of forced entry, and her Ford Taurus was missing, police said.

Shirey was taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead by Coroner Jerry Overman. The cause was blunt-force trauma, authorities said.

During an interview with Royce Walters, the suspect's father, police learned that "Todd has been suffering from psychological issues and has not been taking his prescribed medications," the criminal complaint states.

During a visit with his son and Shirey at their home on Thursday, "Todd became angry and threatened to punch (Royce Walters) because he thought they were laughing at him," police said.

When Royce Walters left at 10:45 p.m., his son and Shirey were the only two people in the home, police said.

District Attorney Patrick Daugherty, who called Shirey "an acquaintance," identified her body early Friday. He had seen her the night before at an Indiana County Democratic Committee meeting.

"That was tough. ... It hasn't been a good day," Daugherty said Friday afternoon.

Shirey was a geography professor at IUP for 37 years and retired in 2007, according to an online alumni site. She was chairwoman of the Geography and Regional Planning Department from 1977-88.

IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said university police notified campus officials of her death this morning.

"She was a lovely, lovely person. There is no other word for her. It's just shocking," Fryling said. "She was so well thought of and touched thousands of students. She was the go-to person for geography students."

Staff writer Renatta Signorini contributed.

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