CLEARFIELD – The attorney for an Osceola Mills woman who shot her health care nurse is asking for her sentence to be reduced.
Marlene W. Kenjora, 71, 2637 Ashland Rd., Osceola Mills, was found guilty of criminal attempt/murder in the first degree, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault after a trial in September. She was sentenced in November to 12 to 24 years in state prison.
The charges stem from an incident at Kenjora’s home when she shot the victim, Erin Schaeffer, as she was calling a crisis hotline on Dec. 6, 2012.
Ronald Collins, attorney for Kenjora asked President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to reconsider her sentence during motions court in Clearfield County.
He argued that Ammerman had sentenced Kenjora as if the victim had suffered serious bodily injury and he stated Schaeffer’s injury did not qualify as serious. He said for it to be considered a serious bodily injury it would have to have put her in substantial risk of death or impairment.
The bullet did not penetrate her brain and she did not lose consciousness, Collins said. He pointed out that she was able to leave the home, get into her vehicle and drive to a nearby home where she received help.
“She was only in the hospital for a few days,” Collins said, adding that although she was off work for a while, it was because of the psychological trauma and not because of the injury itself.
Because it wasn’t a serious injury, Collins said the guidelines for sentencing are lower and she should have received a six-year minimum sentence.
He went on to say Kenjora had no prior record and was under the influence of a mental disturbance. This, he said, is not in dispute because Schaeffer was calling a crisis hotline at the time of the shooting.
Something was wrong with her medication and “she was out of control,” Collins said.
A civil suit against Kenjora filed by Schaeffer was resolved with Schaeffer receiving $100,000, he explained. The suit alleged this was a negligent act and not an intentional action.
District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. referred to these arguments as “complete nonsense.” Schaeffer was in substantial risk of death and if the bullet had hit a little bit to either side she would have been killed, he said.
Shaw noted that Ammerman sentenced Kenjora in the standard range and had actually given her less than the recommendation of the probation department.
“All things considered, the sentence was appropriate,” Shaw said.
Ammerman stated that both sides had already submitted briefs on this issue and he had heard enough of their arguments. He told them if they wanted to respond to each other’s briefs, they had 10 days to do so. Ammerman will rule on the motion for reconsideration of sentence after that.
An additional issue as to whether the jury should have been given the instructions for involuntary intoxication before beginning their deliberations was also discussed. Shaw stated that involuntary intoxication only effects driving under the influence cases and Kenjora would have to be under the influence of something. Instead, testimony in the trial was that she was not taking her medication. Collins said he has not been able to find much case law on this and was planning on exploring this issue in an appeal.
Schaeffer’s testimony in the trial revealed that in November of 2012 Kenjora was having mental health issues, leading to Schaeffer calling a crisis line and Kenjora being taken to a hospital. On the day of the shooting, Dec. 6, 2012, Schaeffer visited Kenjora just a few days after her release from that hospital.
As Schaeffer tried to fill Kenjora’s pill organizer with her new medication, Kenjora became upset. Schaeffer again found herself calling a crisis line about her patient. While she was on the phone, Kenjora ran upstairs and came back with a gun. She shot Schaeffer, who didn’t even realize what had happened until she touched her head and found blood.
Other testimony from neighbors and friends told a story of a woman confused and obsessed with her medications following her release from the hospital. Schaeffer, under cross examination, stated that the new doses ordered by the hospital were not “high enough.”
Dr. Cyril Gamis, a psychiatrist employed by Brookville Hospital, testified at the trial that Kenjora was being treated for bi-polar disorder. Those with the disorder experience extreme mood swings which go from depression to mania. Manic symptoms are similar to being high on drugs. Patients can have delusions and not be in touch with reality, he said.
Kenjora was hospitalized because she was not taking her medication and was showing signs of depression again. Because of side effects, he said he couldn’t just start her at the same level of medication she had been on. He had to increase the dosage slowly. She improved and was “looking forward to things” and even helping other patients. When she was released, she was stabilized, he testified.