The Pennsylvania Superior Court on Tuesday affirmed the first-degree murder conviction and life sentence of a former Geistown man, Joshua Michael Gorgone, for the stabbing death of a woman who three years ago came to his residence to purchase a mini fridge.

On April 5, 2021, Denise A. Williams, 54, a Certified Nurses Assistant at Conemaugh Hospital, wanted to purchase a fridge and found one on Facebook Marketplace.

She and Gorgone exchanged messages in an effort to arrange the sale of the fridge and she visited his apartment.

The Superior Court reported that after the visit, Williams went to a local Federal Credit Union and withdrew $160, and she told a teller there she was excited about purchasing the fridge.

She also called a coworker to tell her about the purchase.

Later that afternoon, Williams’ daughter, who lived with her mother, came home from work and found the mother’s work bag and purse at home.

Her mother, however, was missing. The daughter eventually learned of the intended purchase of the fridge and called the police.

Her daughter, after examining her mother’s Facebook page, was able to provide police with an address as to where she might be.

Johnstown police in the meantime found Williams’ vehicle in Richland Township with fresh blood on the driver’s side door.

Johnstown and Geistown police were able to locate Gorgone’s apartment and gained access with help from the landlord .

Williams’ body was found, wrapped in a comforter, in the bathroom.

She died from 68 stab wounds.

In September 2022, Gorgone was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cambria County Judge Tamara R. Bernstein sentenced Gorgone to life without parole for murder, plus 102 to 288 months on the other offenses.

Gorgone, through Michael Andrew Sylvester of the Cambria County Public Defender’s Office, appealed the verdicts and sentences, arguing the evidence was insufficient to prove the killing was “willful, deliberate and premeditated.”

Gorgone admitted he had stabbed the victim but explained that when she returned to his apartment, the two got into an argument over money and the victim, he contended, forced him to act in self-defense.

The Superior Court panel reviewing the case, including Judges Deborah A. Kunselman, Jill Beck and Correale F. Stevens, emphasized the jury rejected the self-defense argument and the trial judge concluded the evidence at trial “was not tenuous, vague or uncertain. …The jury’s verdict does not shock the conscience of the court.”

The Superior Court, in its opinion, concluded there was “ample evidence” that Gorgone committed murder, robbery and theft.

Gorgone, the appeals court stated, “ignores the totality of the evidence presented at trial and asks this Court to reweigh the evidence in his favor.”

“The jury, however, as factfinder, is the arbiter of credibility,” the opinion stated.

The evidence, the appeals court explained, established that April day, Gorgone, a drug addict, was experiencing “terrible withdrawal symptoms.”

He had no money, and after he placed Williams’ body in his bathroom, he took her vehicle “to go get dope.”

When police found Williams’ car, they found a bag of fentanyl in the center console, but no money.

The Superior Court summed up what the evidence showed, by noting, “Gorgone murdered Williams and stole her money to purchase drugs.”

Gorgone, 29, is serving his sentence in the State Correctional Institution, Fayette.