Pennsylvania Man Accused Of Murdering 19-Year-Old Woman After She Refused Marriage Proposal

A 34-year-old man in Berks County, Pennsylvania, was arrested for allegedly murdering his girlfriend when she rejected his marriage proposal, according to NBC New York. Earlier this week, Christopher Ryan Tucker asked his girlfriend, Tara Serino, of Lehigh County, to marry him at his home in Albany Township.

When Serino reportedly rejected his marriage proposal and confessed to having a sexual relationship with another man, Tucker snapped. Authorities say Tucker strangled her until he thought she was dead before gouging her eyes out, snapping her neck, and then beating her with a hatchet.

It was alleged that Tucker wrapped Serino’s body in a rug before fleeing to Illinois, where his car broke down. Police say he then tried to steal from a nearby farm, but the farmer was on the property and immediately alerted police.

Champaign County Police found Tucker at a truck stop near Highway 57 in Buckley and transported him to Presence Urbana Medical Center for an evaluation.

Tucker was arrested at the hospital after he confessed to killing Serino for rejecting his marriage proposal and admitting that she was sleeping with another man. He went on to say that he left her body in his home before he drove to Illinois.

Following Tucker’s confession, detectives in Pennsylvania went to Tucker’s home and made a gruesome discovery. Serino’s body was found in a bedroom at Tucker’s Albany Township home.

Relatives say she was reported missing after she failed to call them after she arrived at Tucker’s house and let them know that she was okay.

Serino’s father stated that on Tuesday, Tucker’s father, John, came to his home to return his daughter’s purse and cellphone. He told police that he went to Tucker’s home after receiving a call about his son being hospitalized in Illinois.

When he went inside Tucker’s home, he said he saw Serino’s purse and cellphone and decided to give them to her father.

Tucker was charged with first-and-third-degree murder. He is being held in an Illinois jail, but police officials are working diligently to extradite Tucker back to Pennsylvania.

An investigation into Serino’s murder is ongoing.

[Featured Image by Champaign County Sheriff’s Office]