Butler Eagle File Photo

A New Castle man suspected of killing his mother in Lawrence County and wanted in Butler County for identity theft was arrested early Wednesday following a police chase that started in Allegheny County.

Shane McDevitt, 36, of New Castle, was charged with homicide in relation to the death of his mother, Cecelia Liposky, 65, whose body was found in her New Castle home Tuesday morning, police said.

State police said they had established McDevitt as a suspect when he was spotted traveling northbound on Route 28 near Millvale. McDevitt then led troopers on a chase that ended when he crashed the vehicle, which belonged to his mother, into a utility pole near the Springdale exit, about 12 miles away.

State police arrested McDevitt at the scene and transported him to the state police barracks in Butler.

During an interview, McDevitt confessed to killing his mother by striking her repeatedly in the head with a round piece of glass and a hammer, state police said in a news release.

An autopsy revealed Liposky’s death was the result of blunt force trauma.

When police collected evidence at Liposky’s home, they found a round, glass decorative piece and claw hammer both smeared with blood near her body, police said.

McDevitt was also charged with two misdemeanors of possessing an instrument of crime, police said in charging documents.

According to state police, McDevitt had been staying at Liposky’s residence since Sunday.

While in Butler, McDevitt was arraigned by video on separate charges that were pending in Butler County.

In that case, state police in Butler filed charges Tuesday against McDevitt, including one felony count of identity theft, as well as one misdemeanor count of unauthorized device access and four counts of theft.

McDevitt was released on his own recognizance in the Butler case, but remained in custody. He is being held in Lawrence County Prison without bail.

According to charging documents in the Butler County case, dispatchers sent police around 9:04 p.m. Saturday to the home of McDevitt’s ex-girlfriend in Fenelton.

The woman told police McDevitt had left her home earlier in the day, she thought to smoke a cigarette.

“She then heard his vehicle start and watched McDevitt drive off,” police said. “Approximately 30 minutes later, she received a fraud alert text from Chase Bank.”

Police said the woman found three of her credit cards missing from her wallet and later found her container of change, valued at about $150, missing from the home.

She told troopers McDevitt was wearing blue shorts and a black shirt.

Police reviewed security footage from GetGo in Butler, where the fraud alert noted $400 had been withdrawn from an ATM.

“McDevitt is shown withdrawing cash from the ATM dispenser,” said police, also noting he was wearing the clothes the woman described.

For the local case, McDevitt is scheduled to appear May 24 for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.

Eagle digital editor Tracy Leturgey and Eagle staff writer Molly Miller contributed to this report.