Jeremy Fisher (Allegheny County Police Department), George Dayieb pictured in 2014. (Cioppa Racing/Facebook)
Pennsylvania cops on Sunday morning announced the arrests of three business associates charged with conspiring to kill a 57-year-old man who was owed a debt of roughly $440,000 for construction equipment.
George Dayieb, a Murrysville resident, was shot “one time in the back of the head” on Dec. 27 and dragged into a camping trailer in a wooded area of Clarion County, where his body was discovered two days later, authorities said.
According to the Allegheny County Police Department, video evidence corroborates that 41-year-old Jeremy Fisher and Dayieb met up on Dec. 27, just two days after Christmas, because the victim was trying to collect the substantial debt.
The investigation ramped up that evening after Dayieb, reported as a missing person by his “significant other” in Westmoreland County, was nowhere to be found at the Kennedy Township scene where his pickup truck was abandoned, cops said.
“At 5:24 pm on December 27, 2023, Kennedy Township Police located a black Ford F-350 near the intersection of Robinson Boulevard and Ewing Road in Kennedy Township,” authorities said. “The vehicle was unoccupied, and police determined the owner of the vehicle, 57-year-old George Dayieb of Murrysville, was previously reported to be missing and endangered by Murrysville Police.”
Investigators quickly focused in on a Citgo gas station in Coraopolis, as surveillance video allegedly showed the victim getting into Fisher’s car nearby.
But Jeremy Fisher was allegedly not alone in carrying out the homicide.
Cops said that Fisher, his 20-year-old nephew Braden Elliott, and 58-year-old William Fortuna conspired together to kill Dayieb.
Braden Elliott, William Fortuna appear in mug shots.
Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph detailed at a press conference that Fisher was a “known business associate” of Dayieb’s who owed a “significant” amount of money to the victim.
“That was the purpose of this meeting for them to discuss that money,” Joseph said, before revealing how investigators came to their conclusions. “Detectives were able to piece together a timeline through text messaging, cell phone data, license plate readers, and video surveillance that showed their path of travel from there to Butler County.”
“Detectives were also able to identify a second vehicle that appeared to be following Fisher’s vehicle, and that vehicle was owned by William Fortuna, who is an associate and employee of Fisher,” he added. “Fisher supplied the murder weapon to Elliot and Fisher received that weapon from William Fortuna.”
Authorities alleged that the co-defendants got involved in the conspiracy “at Fisher’s direction” and that Elliott was sitting with a gun behind Dayieb inside Fisher’s car.
Elliott allegedly tried to shoot Dayieb but the gun “didn’t fire,” Joseph said. Elliot allegedly texted his co-defendants to tell them about the firearm malfunction, the car ride paused at a gas station, and there Elliott had Fortuna fix the gun.
At one point after the car ride resumed, Joseph said, Fisher texted Elliott “now,” which law enforcement interpreted as a command for Elliott to shoot and kill Dayieb.
“Elliott then shot George one time in the back of the head, killing him,” Joseph said.
The defendants then allegedly worked to hide the victim’s body by dragging into a trailer in a wooded area in Licking Township, where Dayieb’s remains were found on Dec. 29.
Authorities said the defendants were arrested the next day on charges for abuse of a corpse, homicide, tampering with evidence, and criminal conspiracy. The trio remains behind bars.
“We believe the motive is the money,” Joseph said.
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