Masontown police file charges in unsolved 2011 murder case

A “pristine” cigarette butt found at the scene of an unsolved murder in Fayette County has prompted police to file murder charges against a Merrittstown man.

Masontown police on Wednesday charged 37-year-old Frank Timothy Campbell Jr. with the murder of 35-year-old Leon Mickens Jr. of Masontown on August 15, 2011.

Mickens was shot in the back and face in Masontown and died the following day, on his 36th birthday.

Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said his office began re-examining the case after speaking with Destiny Mickens, Leon Mickens’ daughter.

“Basically, she has been pushing this case for a very long time … I met with her earlier this year to talk about the case not moving forward. I told her I will do everything I can,” Aubele said Thursday.

Investigators began gathering as much evidence and documents on the case as they could.

“We had great difficulty finding the files. We still have certain documents that we have not found,” said Aubele.

According to Aubele, a cigarette butt picked up at the scene was neither crushed nor damaged by the weather. He described it as “flawless.”

“The distance to the first blood splash was only a few centimeters to thirty centimeters,” said Aubele.

According to Aubele, Campbell has been a suspect in Mickens’ murder since the year the murder occurred. Investigators had the cigarette butt’s DNA tested and the results showed a match to Campbell.

“That puts him right there,” Aubele said.

Campbell is currently serving a sentence for attempted murder at SCI Somerset, Aubele said. He will be transported to Fayette County to face the new charges.

Online court records show Campbell also faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

He has not yet been charged and a preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled. Charging documents filed by Masontown police were not immediately available due to the holiday.