Bucks County, PA: Ex-boyfriend held since December is charged with killing Bucks woman

March 17, 2011|By Larry King, Inquirer Staff Writer

The ex-boyfriend of a Bucks County woman missing since before Christmas was charged Wednesday with murdering her.

Kenneth Patterson, 48, was arraigned by videoconference from the Bucks County prison, charged with first-degree murder in the presumed death of Diane Corado.

Patterson was arrested Dec. 19 at a New Jersey motel about 15 hours, authorities say, after he kidnapped Corado, 57, from the Falls Township apartment they once shared.

Until Wednesday, Patterson had been held on charges including kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated assault. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday before District Judge Dorothy Vislosky in Fallsington.



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Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty in what could remain a murder-without-a-body case. Exhaustive searches for Corado have come up empty.

First Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry, who is prosecuting Patterson, said there was ample evidence to support a murder charge.

A female friend who was sleeping at Corado's apartment told police that Patterson had broken in about 6 a.m., had beaten Corado with a metal pipe, and had threatened her with a knife from the kitchen. He then forced the two women into Corado's car, drove away, and told Corado he would kill her before releasing the witness, court documents say.

Since then, "nobody has heard from [Corado] at all," Henry said.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Corado's 2004 Pontiac, its interior bloody, was found parked in Camden. Two hours later, Patterson was arrested after leaving a motel room in Maple Shade, his clothing stained with blood.

Patterson has refused to talk to investigators about Corado's whereabouts, Henry said. He is being held without bail.

Contact staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/kinginq