FOX CHAPEL, Pa. — UPDATE, March 11: The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has ruled that Christian Moore-Rouse died from a gunshot wound to the head.
ORIGINAL, March 7: Sources confirm to Channel 11 that the remains of a missing Penn Hills man were found near the Fox Chapel home of a man suspected in a recent homicide.
Adam Rosenberg, who has been charged in the February shooting death of a 28-year-old Baldwin man, lives in the home where the remains were found.
The remains were found around 11 a.m. in a wooded area behind a home on public property along Settler’s Ridge Road in Fox Chapel on Tuesday, according to investigators, who said a Pennsylvania State Police K-9 discovered the remains. They were not buried.
The remains found are those of Christian Moore-Rouse, who had been missing since December.
Moore-Rouse was last seen near a Dollar Tree store on Rodi Road in Penn Hills before he went missing.
His mother told Channel 11 he was friends with Rosenberg, they went to the Community College of Allegheny County together, and that her son had visited Rosenberg at his Fox Chapel house before.
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Rosenberg lived at the home with his parents. He is already in prison and is charged with shooting and killing a Baldwin man in a separate incident last month.
In that case, Jeremy Dentel, 28, was found dead in his home on Vernon Avenue after being shot. Dentel and Rosenberg communicated using a dating app in the days before the apparent shooting, investigators determined. Rosenberg asked Dentel if he lived alone and then repeatedly asked to meet up before killing him, police said.
Sources said after Rosenberg’s arrest for the shooting death of Dentel, investigators got access to his phone, which included communications with Moore-Rouse.
At this point, no charges have been filed against Rosenberg in Moore-Rouse’s death and investigators aren’t saying if there’s any link between the cases.
Investigators also have not said why they were searching near Rosenberg’s home.
“Right now the family is trying to piece together some information. They’re saddened by this news and right now we’re just waiting for law enforcement," said Casey White, Rosenberg’s attorney.
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White said the family just learned about the search Tuesday morning, but offered few details about his client.
Channel 11 spoke with a renowned former FBI profiler about what happens next in this case. Clint Van Zandt is not directly involved in this case but can speak to what is going through the mind of investigators.
“If police were able to connect the homicide victim shot based upon cellphone records and electronic devices, they should be able to make a similar connection with this individual whose body was found today,” said Zandt.
The Allegheny County Police Department released the following statement regarding this ongoing investigation:
“We understand that these are trying times for the family, but we disagree with that characterization.
The Allegheny County Police Department received this case on January 6. The name Adam, without a last name, was provided to investigators in January. He was identified as an acquaintance of Mr. Moore-Rouse, as were others, but not implicated in Mr. Moore-Rouse’s disappearance.
Additional details will be provided regarding this investigation when appropriate.”
Anyone with information about the incident involving human remains found in Fox Chapel is urged to call Allegheny County Police at their tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
The family of Moore-Rouse has created a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses if you’d like to donate.
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