The man accused of murdering a Brockway couple is considered a
“person of interest” in two unsolved murders in New York state, and
was apparently following the “cold cases” on the Internet in the
years since the crimes.

Steven Rebert, 45, of Emporium, was arrested Friday in Jefferson
County and charged with the shooting deaths of Wayne and Vicky
Shugar on April 12. He is now a person of interest in the deaths of
Bill Fickel in 2005 and Kevin Smith in 2007.

During the investigation leading to the arrest of Rebert,
Pennsylvania State Police have been working with the sheriffs’
departments of Orleans and Genesee counties in New York state.

On Nov. 10, 2005, Fickel, 46, was shot to death outside his home
in Oakfield, Genesee County. Rebert had lived on East Shelby Road,
about a mile away from where Fickel was killed.

Fickel had been at his home when a truck stopped out front.
Assuming the truck’s occupants were there to look at a truck he had
for sale, Fickel went outside. He was gunned down moments
later.

“Mr. Fickel was shot twice by a high-powered rifle,” Sheriff
Gary Maha told The Era on Monday.

Rebert was one of the people interviewed following the murder.
He was not, however, considered a suspect, Maha said.

Maha said his department is still investigating, and credited
the Pennsylvania State Police with providing information linking
Rebert to the Fickel homicide.

“We don’t have enough evidence against him at this point in time
to charge him,” Maha said. “We’re still interviewing people in this
area who knew Mr. Rebert.”

Maha told The Daily News of Batavia, N.Y., that Pennsylvania
state troopers found evidence on Rebert’s computer that he had been
following Fickel’s and Smith’s murders on the Internet in the years
since the men’s murders.

He also said Rebert knew both victims.

On Feb. 7, 2007, Smith was gunned down inside his home in
Shelby, Orleans County. He was found two days later by a concerned
neighbor. While Orleans County Sheriff’s office has remained mum
about the homicide, it has since come to light that Rebert was a
person interviewed during the murder investigation.

Rebert, Fickel and Smith had all attended Clarence Central
School.

Maha said his office and the Orleans County Sheriff’s office are
working with the Pennsylvania State Police on the murder
investigations.

The Daily News reports that the break in the case came when
Rebert was arrested June 3 in the Town of Alabama in New York state
and charged with criminal possession of a weapon. The charge was
eventually dismissed.

On June 7 — four days prior to the arrest in the Shugars
homicides — Rebert was arrested in Emporium Borough on drug-related
charges. He is charged with possession with intent to deliver a
controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance,
possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug
paraphernalia.

The arrest was made by Emporium-based state police Cpl. Michael
Ireland. The charges are filed at Magisterial District Judge Alvin
Brown’s office in Emporium. Neither office would release any
information regarding the case on Monday.

In the years since Fickel and Smith were murdered in New York,
the families of the victims have been working to keep the cases in
the public’s eyes.

Fickel’s case was covered on the website for the television show
“America’s Most Wanted.”

Smith’s family had offered a $20,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of his killer.