Man suspected of killing mailman in Collier to appear again in court next week

A small memorial of pink flowers stood Friday at the base of the street signs for Suburban and Columbia avenues in Collier, a day after police say the neighborhood’s longtime mailman was gunned down on his route by his disgruntled former neighbor.

At the other end of the quiet suburban street, a sign in front of Rennerdale United Presbyterian Church announced a community remembrance for the postal worker, Louis Vignone.

Vignone, 53, was on his route near the intersection of Suburban and Columbia when investigators say a man approached, fired at least seven shots, dropped his gun, and left in his van.

The man, later identified by police as 58-year-old Eric Kortz, then drove to the Carnegie Police Department less than 5 miles away. He told those inside that he had shot someone and wanted to turn himself in, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Multiple police departments responded to the Carnegie station, with dozens of officers moving in with guns drawn, employees said. Kortz was taken into custody, and officers cordoned off his large white van that was in the parking lot next to the station.

Kortz is charged federally with murder of a United States employee and a firearm violation. His initial court appearance was held virtually early Thursday evening. Wearing a forest green T-shirt, he spoke only to confirm to U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia R. Eddy that his financial disclosure form was accurate.

She ordered Kortz held without bond until his preliminary and detention hearing, which is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Prior to the hearing, Kortz told investigators that he had shot Vignone because he believed Vignone and his family had poisoned Kortz and his family with cyanide. The two previously lived across the street from each other in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood.

Vignone had not lived in the neighborhood since 2018, property records show.

Kortz told investigators he knew of Vignone’s mail route and tracked him down there, according to the complaint. He drove the van toward the mail truck and stopped in front of it, forcing Vignone to stop. Kortz then said he “went to put some bullets in him,” police said.

Investigators found seven spent shell casings in a yard near the mail truck, along with the gun Kortz said he dropped after he stopped firing, according to the complaint.