PITTSBURGH — For the first time, triple-homicide suspect Ronald Steave went before a judge for his preliminary hearing.
All charges were held for trial.
The Pittsburgh man is charged in the New Years Eve murders of Nandi Fitzgerald and Tatiana Hill, as well as 12-year-old Denzel Nowlin in Homewood.
Their loved ones packed the courtroom and stood together witnessing testimony from the night the victims were killed.
Multiple Pittsburgh police officers and detectives testified about the evidence from inside and outside of the Hamilton Avenue home.
This included graphic photos of blood spatter in hallways and a bedroom, Nandi Fitzgerald’s cellphone, and surveillance images of Steave speeding through Pittsburgh and neighboring communities in his Nissan Altima hours after the shooting occurred.
Detectives discussed obtaining a search warrant for Fitzgerald’s phone.
Once they unlocked it, they discovered Steave in multiple videos with the victims right before they were shot and killed at the home.
The Commonwealth then played a surveillance image of Steave wearing the same exact shirt that was shown in the previous video, hours after the shooting while holding a gun.
One detective testified saying he recovered Steave’s black Nissan Altima in McKeesport.
It had visible wipe-down marks on the driver-side door handle and multiple loaded magazines in a blue grocery bag.
Police say those magazines had Steave’s fingerprints on them.
Police ultimately tracked Steave down and took him into custody in late March.
The victims’ loved ones did not want to comment until after the trial.
At the end of court today, they were heard praying out loud and saying they will fight for justice, all while thanking Pittsburgh police for their efforts.
Steave is set to go before a judge for his formal arraignment on May 27 at the Allegheny County Courthouse at 8 a.m.
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