Investigators have made an arrest in a 2012 murder in the City of Erie, according to an announcement Tuesday.

Anthony D'Onofrio has been charged with the murder of Lexie Castile.

It happened Sept. 16, 2012, at an address in the 1100 block of W. 24th St.

D'Onofrio was taken into custody Monday morning at the entrance gate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, according to investigators.

He is being held on an extradition warrant at Pierce County Jail in Tacoma and will be arraigned upon his return to Erie.

D'Onofrio faces charges including homicide, aggravated assault, possessing instruments of crime and recklessly endangering another person.

The 911 call

Police responded to the residence around 12:31 a.m. after D'Onofrio called 911 to report Castile, his 20-year-old financée, shot herself.

She was taken to UPMC Hamot where she was declared dead at 2:14 a.m.

They both lived in a two-car garage which had been converted into an apartment with Castile's three-year-old son, according to investigators.

What investigators found

Police found a Glock 17 .9mm pistol with an empty magazine lying on the bed. Sixteen live bullets were also found on the bed.

One spent .9mm casing was found in the coroner of the apartment, and one live .9mm round was located on the floor.

Investigators said they later confirmed the spent shell casing was fired from the Glock pistol found on the bed.

D'Onofrio's original interview with investigators

D'Onofrio told investigators he did not engage in a physical fight or verbal argument with Castile the evening before.

In another statement, D'Onofrio said he told her to pack her things, went to the couch to watch television and then heard a "pop." He said he grabbed the gun, removed the clip, counted the rounds and noticed one was missing, according to police.

He consented to a gunshot residue test which was positive for gunpowder residue on his left and right hands as well as the left should of his T-shirt, investigators said.

The autopsy

An autopsy determined the gunshot wound was a contact wound to the head above the right ear, according to investigators.

It also uncovered evidence of recent trauma including a contusion on the mid-right thigh, an abrasion on the mid-forehead, a contusion on the third finger of the right hand and a contusion on the left wrist, police said.

New developments in the case

A detective in January 2023 interviewed a neighbor who said she and her husband heard arguing about an hour before the 911 call then a blood-curdling female scream, according to investigators. The neighbor and her husband drove around the block to see where the scream came from, but there was no one around.

Another neighbor remembered hearing unusually loud voices, which she never heard coming from the garage before, according to police.

Investigators determined the position of the slide mark of the pistol was to the rear of the head, and the Muzzle was towards the front of Castile's head.

They also found Castile would have needed to significantly contort her arm and hand to discharge the gun based the position of the muzzle against Castile's head and the trajectory of the bullet, according to police.