Rangel Vangas, 53, most recently of York but previously of Philadelphia, was arrested on the scene of the double slaying and charged with two counts of Criminal Homicide, Springettsbury Township police detailed in a release.
Vangas is a convicted murderer, according to state and federal court documents obtained by Daily Voice.
Officers had been called to an assault in the 3200 block of Eastern Boulevard in Springettsbury Township at 10:21 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, as explained in the release.
A man and a woman who had been assaulted were found, life-saving measures were attempted, but "they were not able to be saved, and both died at the scene," the police said.
"Deputy Coroner Molly York responded to the scene to investigate and certify the deaths," as stated in the coroner's release. "The residence was a boarding house-style structure where the two tenants reportedly lived with other tenants."
"There is no threat to the community," Coroner Pam Gay wrote in an earlier release.
"Their names are being withheld until the victim’s families are notified," the police added.
Autopsies have been scheduled at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown for 8 a/m. on Thursday, Oct. 10.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about these killings is incident is asked to contact the Springettsbury Township Police at 717-757-3525 or the lead investigator, Det. Tessa Miller, at tessa.miller@springettsbury.com
Vangas murdered someone in 1996, court records show. He was convicted in 1998 of Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter, and Attempted Arson. He was sentenced to serve 20 to 40 years for the murder and one to five years for the arson attempt.
In 2019, after multiple appeals, a Writ of Habeas Corpus was heard in federal court and at the recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice he was released on Sept. 23, 2020. The case was fully closed on July 9, 2020, according to federal court documents.
Court dockets for these York killings were not immediately available.
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