WEBSTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Eugene Short said he was shocked to hear about his Aunt Cathy’s murder. But he said he was more shocked to hear Piero Scala, an old family friend, was arrested for it.

“He was a great friend for me he was a mentor growing up. It’s hard for me to look back because he was a big part of our lives and now he’s always gonna be a big part of our lives because of what happened,” said Short.

Police arrested Scala for the murder of Cathy O’Brien, the woman found dead in her home in Webster on October 9. Police said Scala stabbed O’Brien multiple times and killed her. He pleaded not guilty to second degree murder. Police said Scala and O’Brien knew each other and because of this, there’s no public safety threat.

Short said he feels like he’s lost two people.

“When something like this happens and you have a family member taken from you and it’s by somebody else that you trusted your whole life unfortunately you lose both of those people that day.”

He said his family has some sort of closure with the arrest being made, but it’s more complicated than that.

“There are doubts in my mind because you think, ‘I knew this person for so long, how could this person do this?'”

Scala is being held at the Monroe County Jail without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday, but Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said they plan to put the case in front of a grand jury before then. She also said more charges could come out at that time.

Police said the community calling in tips helped them solve this case.