CLEARFIELD – The three-day trial got under way Monday in Clearfield County Court for a Luthersburg man who is accused of assisting in a DuBois woman’s suicide in January of 2015.
Brian Lee Schaffer, 44, of Luthersburg is facing charges of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, criminal homicide, aiding suicide and involuntary manslaughter.
District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. is presenting the case on behalf of the commonwealth. Schaffer is being represented by defense attorney Gary A. Knaresboro, Esq., of DuBois. President Judge Fredric Ammerman is presiding over the case.
The charges against Schaffer stem from an incident Jan. 2, 2015 in DuBois when the victim allegedly shot herself with Schaffer’s gun. Officer Paul Brosky testified first on behalf of the commonwealth.
Around 7 a.m. on the date in question, Brosky responded to a report of a female gunshot victim on Grant Street in DuBois. He arrived first on the scene, where Schaffer was in the doorway yelling that the victim was bleeding from her head.
Brosky testified that upon entering the residence, he observed the victim who was bleeding from her right temple, nose and mouth. He said she was also making “gurgling” sounds, as though she was having trouble breathing.
Corporal Matthew Robertson and Officer Casey Doherty then arrived on the scene. Upon arrival of emergency personnel, police assisted with their removal of the victim from the residence, Brosky said.
Brosky spoke with Schaffer at the scene. He said Schaffer told him he was upstairs in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot. Schaffer then went downstairs to find out that the victim had shot herself.
Aaron Cicon, a paramedic with DuBois Emergency Medical Services, was dispatched around 7:15 a.m. Jan. 2, 2015 for a female with a gunshot wound. Upon entering the residence, he observed her seated on the couch and a gun to her left on the floor.
Cicon observed a wound in the area of the victim’s right temple. She was unresponsive and breathing approximately six times a minute. Cicon said they moved quickly to remove her from the residence and to transport her to the hospital.
Dr. Dustin McRae of the emergency department at DuBois Penn Highlands Hospital said at approximately 7:30 a.m., the victim arrived at the hospital’s ER. She still had a pulse and had difficulty with breathing.
McRae said he observed wounds on both sides of the victim’s head. He said every effort was made to save the victim’s life, but she died at 7:41 a.m. He proceeded to contact the coroner, the victim’s family practitioner and police.
Doherty testified next and stated he responded with Robertson to the scene. Upon entering the residence, he observed the victim seated on the couch in the living room. She was bleeding from her temple, nose and mouth and taking slow, “agonal” breaths.
Doherty said that he observed a gun on the floor, and it appeared to be prepared to fire. He subsequently neutralized the gun and collected it as evidence along with one spent casing he found on the scene.
On Jan. 2, 2015, Doherty said he transported Schaffer to the DuBois City police station for an interview. Schaffer, he said, told him that the victim had a history of suffering from mental health problems, and she had been hearing voices.
Schaffer first told Doherty he was upstairs in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot. He went downstairs to find out that the victim had shot herself.
Later on he changed his story, telling Doherty he was upstairs when he heard the backdoor and went down to check on the victim. This, he told Doherty, was when he witnessed the victim with the gun to her head; when he yelled he said she shot herself.
Shaw also presented exhibits of Schaffer’s written statement to police to members of the jury, as well as played an audio recording of his interview. At one point, Schaffer realized during the interview with Doherty that he’d “seen it.”
Schaffer described seeing the victim with the gun to her head, reacting by saying what the [expletive] and then hearing the “boom.” As part of his investigation, Doherty determined the gun, which the victim allegedly used to shoot herself, belonged to Schaffer.
Under cross-examination, Knaresboro asked Doherty if he believed Schaffer appeared to be under the influence on the date in question. Doherty said he didn’t recall. When asked about this by Shaw under re-direct, Doherty said Schaffer was coherent and able to answer his questions.
Kevin Mongan testified that from 12 a.m. – 3 a.m., he was at the victim’s residence. He said he, the victim and Schaffer had all been drinking Tequila and doing meth continuously throughout the night. Schaffer had bought the meth and brought it to share, Mongan testified.
Mongan, who had been dating the victim for about three months, said he was upset with the victim because Schaffer was there. Because she wasn’t responding to his questions, he told her that he would leave if Schaffer didn’t. He said he left around 3 a.m. and went to the hospital to use the WiFi.
When he messaged Schaffer’s phone, the victim started messaging him on it. Mongan said the victim asked him to come back to the residence. He then went to borrow a phone to call her, and told her he’d come back to discuss their relationship.
Mongan said he asked a buddy to take him to the victim’s residence. He arrived and knocked on the back door. When he heard yelling at the front of the residence, he went around and found a police officer with Schaffer.
When Mongan asked why an officer was there, Schaffer initially told him he didn’t want to know. He eventually told Mongan that the victim had shot herself.
When asked by Shaw, Mongan said Schaffer told him that he was upstairs when he heard the door. He then went downstairs after hearing a gunshot and found the victim.
Under cross-examination by Knaresboro, Mongan indicated that they had all been using meth for about four days prior to the shooting incident.
A friend of the victim said the victim and Schaffer had dated for two or three years. When the couple broke up, she said Schaffer was heartbroken and became jealous when the victim got into another relationship.
In late fall of 2014, the friend said she was having a telephone conversation with Schaffer when he commented that he “could just kill” the victim. She said she didn’t really recall the context of Schaffer’s statement but felt it was sarcasm.
Coroner Mike Morris testified that he was an observer of the autopsy performed on the victim. He said it was determined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was undetermined while they didn’t possess sufficient evidence at that point to rule homicide, suicide or accidental.
The commonwealth will continue to present its case at 9 a.m. Tuesday.