A Binghamton man was arrested at a Susquehanna County convenience store Tuesday in connection with a double homicide.
Aaron Powell, 39, 31 Milford St. has been charged with killing his estranged wife, Christina Powell, 35, and Mario Masciarelli, 24, last week in Binghamton.
Mr. Powell surrendered at a Checkered Express on Route 29 in Springville Twp., said Susquehanna County Sheriff Lance Benedict.
He was taken into custody without incident by Susquehanna County law enforcement officers around 10 a.m., and transferred to Broome County, N.Y., on Tuesday afternoon.
"He was very compliant when we arrived on location," Mr. Benedict said.
The Broome County sheriff's office in New York was following up on 176 leads to try to track Mr. Powell down. One lead was that Mr. Powell had been seen somewhere in the Montrose area on the afternoon of March 22, according to a release from the Broome County sheriff.
Police learned that shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday Mr. Powell had placed a call to both a family member and a close friend. Police were able to pinpoint his location from his phone number. That's when law enforcement took him into custody just as he was leaving the store.
Mr. Benedict said that he believes Mr. Powell was in the process of making an agreement with law enforcement to turn himself, in but was apprehended first. The two counts of 2nd degree murder come after a grisly slaying in Binghamton.
At 11:21 a.m. on March 22, The Broome County Sheriff's Office received a call from a friend of Mrs. Powell to check on her because she hadn't heard from Mrs. Powell and could not get in contact with her.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found the doors and windows locked tight so they forced their way in. A search of the house revealed the two bodies. Mrs. Powell appeared to have been strangled and Mr. Masciarelli looked to have been hit over the head by a blunt object. Police did not disclose what the relationship is between the two.
Police are still gathering information and ask anyone with any knowledge of the crime to call the Broome County Sheriff's office at (607) 778-1911.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter