Postal worker shot dead in his truck by former neighbor who thought he was poisoned, says federal government

• A man confessed to shooting a postman and former neighbor who he said poisoned his family, court documents show.

• An affidavit says Eric Kortz told investigators he killed his former neighbor, Louis Vignone, while on his mail route.

• Neighbors described Kortz to local media as “obsessed” and said Vignone had moved away from the neighborhood to “start over”.

A Pennsylvania man confessed to shooting and shooting a USPS employee who he said was trying to poison his family when they were previously neighbors, court documents show.

Erik Kortz followed his former neighbor, Louis Vignone, on his mail route Thursday through Collier Township, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

When Kortz found Vignone in his mail truck, he pulled his van ahead to stop Vignone, then got out and shot the postman, the affidavit states.

Kortz told investigators he dropped his gun at the scene and went directly to a local police department to surrender, according to the affidavit.

Vignone sustained several gunshot wounds, including one to the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene, the affidavit states. Investigators say they found a gun and seven used shell casings in a yard near Vignone’s USPS vehicle.

Kortz has been charged with murdering a United States employee and using a firearm in connection with a violent crime. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 12 for a detention hearing.

According to the affidavit, Kortz told investigators he “went to put bullets” in Vignone because he believed his former neighbor had poisoned him and his family with cyanide.

A former neighbor of Vignone and Kortz told KDKA that Kortz was “weird and beyond obsessed” with the postman when they were neighbors. Kortz lived with his brother across from Vignone, his wife and their three children, according to the report.

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Another former neighbor told KDKA that Vignone moved his family to Moon Township in 2018 to “get a fresh start”. A third former neighbor told the news channel that months before the shooting, Kortz had told people “something big” was going to happen and the whole town would know about it.

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