Police Release Details of H-burg Murder; Suspect Takes Own Life

The Nov. 21 murder of 27-year-old Tyler Slippy of Hollidaysburg was motivated by a romantic rivalry with a co-worker, according to Hollidaysburg Borough Police.

On Friday, Jan. 8, police, along with the Blair County District Attorney’s office, released details of the investigation into Slippy’s murder. Slippy’s body was found in his Hollidaysburg apartment

Police said Kenneth Kim, 39, of Ebensburg, a co-worker of Slippy’s at Stuckey Automotive, stabbed Slippy multiple times after gaining entry to his apartment with a passcode he apparently remembered from a previous visit.

Kim was the focus of the investigation and when police located him at an Ebensburg motel on Dec. 23, Kim ran into his motel room and shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

After Kim’s suicide, police were contacted by a friend of Kim’s who told them that Kim admitted that he had killed Slippy because of a romantic rivalry over a girl. Police said the friend knew details of the homicide that were not yet made public.

Over the course of the six-week investigation, police interviewed 25 witnesses and executed 25 search warrants. While questioning witnesses, police noticed a cut on Kim’s hand. Police sought Kim’s medical records and discovered he had been treated for the cut just hours after the murder.

Police forensics found what they believe to be blood in Kim’s home and the car that police said he was driving the night Slippy was killed.

Police said Slippy died from multiple stab wounds to his head, neck and chest and that he had defensive wounds on his hands.

Hollidaysburg police were assisted in the investigation by State Police, the Blair County Coroner’s Office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.