Nearly a year after a Coraopolis man was killed in an altercation, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled his death a homicide.
It remains unclear if prosecutors in Butler County, where the fatal incident took place, will file criminal charges in the death.
Donald P. Miller, 59, was involved in the incident on March 6, 2025, at a home on Broadstone Drive in Adams Township, Butler County, the medical examiner said Wednesday. The incident was reported to police around 11:30 a.m. that day.
Paramedics rushed Miller to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh. He died there six days later.
The medical examiner’s office this week deemed Miller’s cause of death “complications of manual strangulation.”
While Miller died in a Pittsburgh hospital, Allegheny County Police are not investigating the circumstances that led to his death, police spokesman Jim Madalinsky told TribLive. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office referred questions Thursday to officials in Butler County.
Neither Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger nor officers from the Adams Township police department returned phone calls or emails Thursday seeking comment.
Goldinger told TribLive news partner WTAE that Adams Township police are investigating the death. He declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
It was unclear Thursday what caused the delay in determining Miller’s cause and manner of death.
Miller, known as “Donnie,” “lived a life full of passion, adventure and love for his family,” according to an obituary posted online. In it, he was described as a “faithful Catholic” and “an avid outdoorsman and thrill-seeker.”
Born in Pittsburgh in 1966, the father of three joined Miller Plastics, his family’s business, after graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the obituary said.
Miller, whose burial was private, was “known for his vibrant spirit” and “lived by his catchphrase, ‘Drive fast, take chances,’ ” the obituary said.
On Thursday, a family member referred questions about Miller’s death to attorney Michael Santicola.
Santicola declined comment.
