OLD FORGE, Pa. — Flowers line the outside of Ghigiarelli's Pizza on South Main Street in Old Forge the day after police say they caught the man who killed Robert Baron more than six years ago.
37-year-old Justin Schuback is charged with homicide, robbery, burglary, and abuse of a corpse for the 2017 killing.
He was arrested Friday afternoon and remains locked up in Lackawanna County.
According to investigators, Schuback has been on their radar from the day Baron went missing.
On the morning of January 26, 2017, Robert Baron Sr. didn't show up for work.
The dough delivery sat outside Ghigiarelli's Pizza, where family members told police something was off.
Baron's car was missing. Inside the restaurant, police found evidence of a crime. Robert Baron was officially missing.
First, a $10,000 reward for information that later jumped to $30,000. For years, authorities did not say much about the investigation.
Now, Justin Schuback of Old Forge is accused of killing Baron, and court papers show how and why police were on to him from the beginning.
According to the affidavit, the day Baron was reported missing, his son, Robert Baron Jr., named Schuback as someone who would want to hurt his father.
Baron Jr. admitted he bought drugs from Schuback and that his father wasn't happy when Schuback would hang around the restaurant.
When police interviewed Schuback later that day, he confirmed he had a problem with Baron Jr.
Three days later, police found Baron's car abandoned on Howard Street in Old Forge. There were blood stains on the passenger seat, and mud caked on the tires.
In March 2017, state police confirmed blood found in the restaurant and car belonged to Robert Baron. DNA from another male was also found, but they didn't know who it belonged to.
A few days later, police talked with Schuback's girlfriend. She said Schuback went out the night of January 25, 2017, and was gone for several hours overnight.
Police searched Schuback's home and took his DNA. Over the next few months, they interviewed a number of people who said Schuback suddenly came into a large amount of money.
In September 2018, detectives used Schuback's cellphone records to track his movements on the night of Baron's disappearance.
Police say he was in the area of Ghigiarelli's for a time overnight. He then met a friend to pay a debt and buy drugs. Cell phone data shows Schuback didn't leave Old Forge.
From October 2019 through November 2020, genetic experts matched the DNA sample police took from Schuback to DNA found in Baron's car.
Then, last week federal investigators provided detectives with a detailed map of Schuback's cell phone movement from that night.
His cell phone pinged at the restaurant, at the wooded area off of Connell Street, and at the area of Howard Street where Baron's car was found.
The next day detectives went to talk to Schuback again. He denied being in Baron's car or any of those locations that night.
Then on Tuesday, several agencies converged on two areas of Old Forge.
Human remains were found and were sent for DNA testing.
Results came back, proving the remains were those of Robert Baron and finally giving authorities the evidence they felt they needed to make an arrest.
Justin Schuback was taken into custody Friday afternoon.
He is currently being held without bail and is due back in court on April 10.
Watch Newswatch 16 coverage of the Robert Baron disappearance case on YouTube: