Catherine Hamborsky, from Scottdale, was arrested on homicide, arson and abuse of a corpse charges stemming from the death of Thomas Lesniak, 52, of Acme, whose body was found Tuesday by firefighters inside JJ's Restaurant and Lounge in Upper Tyrone Township.
State police said Hamborsky confessed to shooting and stabbing Lesniak. Hamborsky told state police that Lesniak tried to proposition her for sex, then pulled a knife and a gun on her during a struggle at the tavern about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, court documents said.
A phone number for Hamborsky rang unanswered Thursday night. She was being held in the Fayette County Jail. It was unclear if she had an attorney.
Hamborsky told state police that Lesniak wanted to trade sex for credit on a video poker machine and then began groping her, documents said.
They struggled, fell to the floor and Lesniak pulled out a knife, according to court documents. Hamborsky told state police she grabbed the knife from him and stabbed him in the back between his neck and shoulder blade, according to the affidavit.
Lesniak then pulled a gun but dropped it during the struggle and Hamborsky grabbed it and shot him, court documents said.
Hamborsky told state police she then went home and threw the gun into a stream. She then allegedly grabbed a gas can, went back to the bar and set it on fire. Firefighters found the gas can, state police said.
