Man found dead inside former UPMC hospital building in Lawrence County

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A homicide investigation is underway after a man’s body was found in a former UPMC hospital.

New Castle Police said a 51-year-old man was found dead inside the Former UPMC Jameson South/St. Francis Hospital building on 1000 S. Mercer Street at 11:44 a.m. on Thursday.

He was identified as Brian Kenneth LeGault by the coroner’s office.

His death has been ruled a homicide.

“He was a pretty nice guy. He was cool,” LeGault’s neighbor Jordan Wise said. The two lived next to each other, about a mile and a half from the old hospital. “Hearing he’s gone really got me a little bit.”

LeGault’s name is still on the mailbox at the duplex next door. Wise said he lived there with someone else, but no one answered when we knocked on the door. Other neighbors said they may have moved.

Meanwhile, neighbors next to the old Saint Francis Hospital told Channel 11 they are fed up.

“There’s a lot of people going in and out there all the time,” Kayla Perschka said. “They do all sorts of stuff in there. They go in there for copper. They’re probably doing drugs.”

“We see people all around there all the time. A lot of homeless people hang out there. For someone to be dead there and all the stuff in the building that’s unsafe, it’s sad,” Cynder Shields said.

They called it a “nuisance” and said they hope to see it demolished soon.

Anyone with information is asked to call 724-656-9300 or 911.

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