Spree Killing Suspect Charge in Pa.

This undated photo released by the U.S. Marshals office shows Paul Gilbert Devoe III, who is a suspect in the murder of four people in Jonestown, Texas. Four bodies were found in a home northwest of Austin, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007. Devoe, 43, was arrested Monday in Shirley, N.Y., on a Texas murder charge in the bar slaying and a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Office) (AP)

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- A man suspected in a cross-country killing spree that included a quadruple slaying in Texas was charged Wednesday with killing an elderly woman in her rural Pennsylvania home so he could steal her car.

Paul G. Devoe III, 43, confessed to shooting to death 81-year-old Betty Jane Dehart, police said.

Devoe allegedly told investigators he pulled off Interstate 81 on Sunday because of mechanical trouble with the stolen station wagon he had been driving. He found Dehart alone, sitting on the front porch of her Greencastle home, authorities said.

He said he pulled out a handgun and chased the retired seamstress into the house, where she ran to the bedroom and covered her face with her arms, according to his arrest affidavit. Afraid that her screams would alert neighbors, Devoe said he shot her once, police said.

He allegedly stole Dehart's car and $6 to $8 from her purse. Devoe was captured in New York after a brief standoff on Monday.

Devoe, of Marble Falls, Texas, was being held Wednesday evening at the Suffolk County Jail in New York on a fugitive from justice warrant in connection with a murder charge in the Friday killing of a Texas bartender. A court hearing in New York was scheduled for Friday.

He was also charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, 46-year-old Paula Griffith, on Friday. Griffith was one of four people found shot to death Sunday in a home near Austin. Devoe is the only suspect in the other three deaths, said Roger Wade, a spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives are currently following up on leads and trying to establish a motive, he said.

Jim Chilcoat, Dehart's son-in-law, said Wednesday the family was pleased that Pennsylvania authorities planned to try Devoe for the killing. The family is planning a funeral this weekend.

"We're going to be figuring out closure for the next month, years, on how this went down," he said.