BELLEFONTE, PA (THECOUNT) — Ryan James Paige, 36, of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, has been identified as the state prison inmate who died by suicide January 29 while serving a lengthy sentence at SCI Benner Township in Centre County, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Rockview.
Authorities said Paige was serving a sentence of 28 to 62 years in a state correctional facility following his 2022 guilty plea in Pike County to third-degree murder, attempted murder, and two counts of reckless endangerment stemming from a 2020 family shooting.
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Paige had been housed at the State Correctional Institution at Benner Township after arriving there in October 2024, records show. Officials confirmed his death was ruled a suicide. No additional details about the circumstances inside the facility were released.
In April 2022, Pike County President Judge Gregory H. Chelak sentenced Paige, then 32, following his guilty plea entered as jurors were assembling for his trial. The Pike County District Attorney’s Office said the violence “arose out of a long simmering dispute between the families.”
By entering the plea, Paige admitted to the murder of Ronald Paige, his father, the attempted murder of Nicole Gencarelli, his father’s fiancée, and recklessly endangering two minor children who were inside the residence at the time of the shooting.
According to Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin, the events unfolded in the early morning hours of April 1, 2020. Authorities said Paige drove to his father’s residence where Gencarelli and the two children also lived. Investigators said he exited his vehicle carrying a loaded hunting rifle and fired multiple rounds into the home.
One of the bullets struck Ronald Paige in the back, killing him. Gencarelli and the children were not struck by gunfire, officials said, but were inside the residence when the shots were fired.
When state police arrived to arrest Paige later that day, authorities said he exited his residence wearing a ballistic vest outfitted with ammunition magazines and carrying a large knife. Police said he surrendered without incident. Troopers recovered a semi-automatic Tavor 5.56 NATO rifle equipped with a laser, night scope, and light.
The Pike County District Attorney’s Office said tensions between the families escalated in March 2020 following a verbal dispute between Paige’s girlfriend and Gencarelli while picking up school lunches distributed by the East Stroudsburg School District during COVID-19 closures.
At Paige’s sentencing, Gencarelli read aloud a letter Ronald Paige had written to his son months before the shooting. According to prosecutors, the letter offered an attempt at reconciliation and words of support, but the effort to deliver it was rejected.
Tonkin later described the case as “particularly senseless,” stating, “Here an easily resolvable family dispute led to the death of a father and a long term of incarceration for his son, a truly no winner situation.”
Court records show Paige was also ordered to pay a $1,200 fine in addition to his prison sentence.
State police confirmed the investigation into Paige’s death inside SCI Benner Township remains administrative in nature. No indication of foul play was reported, and officials reiterated the death was ruled a suicide.
SCI Benner Township, located near Bellefonte in Centre County, houses several hundred inmates and operates under Pennsylvania Department of Corrections oversight. Standard procedure in inmate death cases includes internal review and notification of next of kin.
Authorities did not release further information about the circumstances of the suicide or whether Paige had been under observation at the time.
The original homicide case in Pike County drew attention due to the family relationship between the victim and the defendant and the escalating domestic tensions that preceded the violence.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or emotional distress, help is available. You can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 to connect with trained counselors 24/7. You can also chat via 988lifeline.org. Support is free, confidential, and available nationwide.
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