A man connected to the shooting death of a Murrysville contractor while driving along Route 422 in Butler Township is now facing a charge of the criminal solicitation of homicide, according to documents filed Thursday, Feb. 22.

Jeremy T. Fisher, 41, of Coraopolis, is accused of asking a former business associate if he was interested in making $50,000 for “offing” George Dayieb, 57, about a month before Dayieb’s Dec. 27 death, Allegheny County police said.

The former business associate from Butler County, who is only identified as “Witness No. 1” in the criminal complaint, contacted police Dec. 31 after seeing news stories about the homicide and arrest of Fisher and two others.

Also charged in connection to Dayieb’s death are Fisher’s nephew, Braden Elliott, 20, of Chicora, and William Fortuna, 58, of Conway. Fisher, Elliott and Fortuna were initially charged with homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, conspiracy to use a communication facility, conspiracy to tamper with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

Police said Dayieb died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head and his body was found in a trailer at a Clarion County camp. Charging documents indicate the homicide occurred in a vehicle traveling along Route 422, beneath the “Mercer bridge.” Mercer Road crosses over Route 422 in Butler Township, near the Center Township line.

The fatal shooting followed a stop at a Sunoco gas station at 2019 New Castle Road in Portersville, where police say Fortuna fixed and returned a gun to Elliott after it failed to fire in an earlier attempt at shooting Dayieb.

The additional charge of criminal solicitation filed Thursday has an incident date listed as Nov. 27, exactly one month before Dayieb’s death.

According to the criminal complaint, Fisher called “Witness No. 1” around the week of Nov. 27. The witness told police he believed Fisher was “kidding” until he saw his arrest.

A day or two later, Fisher showed up at a site where the witness was working and started the conversation with him by asking if he’d like to make $50,000 for “offing” Dayieb, which he understood to mean killing.

The witness recalled Fisher claiming Dayieb took money from him but did not use it to pay for an excavator. The witness told police he replied by saying it “did not sound like something George (Dayieb) would do.”

The witness then asked Fisher “what type of problem he had with George (Dayieb),” to which Fisher replied “he would not understand,” the complaint said.

At a Friday, Feb. 16, preliminary hearing for Fisher and Fortuna, Elliott testified that he was promised a Ford F-350 pickup truck in exchange for killing Dayieb.

After initially declining multiple offers, Elliott testified that, on the day of the shooting, Fisher gave him a .38-caliber revolver belonging to Fortuna, removed the headrests from the front seats of a Ram 5500 work truck they were using and told Elliott to sit behind the passenger seat, where Dayieb would be sitting.

While driving toward Butler on Route 422, Elliott pulled the trigger on the revolver, but it didn't fire, charging documents show.

Fisher then stopped at the Mount Chestnut gas station, where Elliott got out and gave the gun to Fortuna, who fixed and returned it to Elliott, according to the testimony.

Elliott said he then shot Dayieb in the back of the head after Fisher texted “now” and reclined the front passenger seat so no one would notice Dayieb's body.

The vehicles, driven by Fisher and Fortuna, then continued to the parking lot of Oesterlings Sandblasting and Painting, a business on Glenwood Way in Center Township, according to charging documents. The two parked behind a dumpster before taking Dayieb’s keys and phone from his pockets, police said.

Dayieb’s body was then taken by Elliott to a camp in Clarion County, charging documents show.

Elliott waived his preliminary hearing and was arraigned Feb. 9. District Judge Michele K. Santicola ordered on Feb. 16 all charges against both Fisher and Fortuna held for trial. A formal arraignment is scheduled for March 18.