CLEARFIELD – A jury deliberated for approximately two hours Wednesday before finding Brian Lee Schaffer, 44, of Luthersburg not guilty of the most serious charges in relation to the January of 2015 death of a DuBois woman.
Schaffer was found not guilty of both first- and third-degree murder and aiding/causing suicide. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver.
District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. presented the case on behalf of the commonwealth. Schaffer was represented by defense attorney Gary A. Knaresboro, Esq., of DuBois. President Judge Fredric Ammerman presided over the case.
Members of the jury entered into deliberations shortly before 12 p.m. and rendered their verdict shortly before 2 p.m. During their deliberations, jurors reconvened in the courtroom with questions for the judge at 12:28 p.m. and 1:05 p.m., respectively.
Jurors first asked to hear the definitions for both involuntary manslaughter and aiding/causing suicide. When asked, jurors indicated they wanted the definition and not the longer explanation with the elements of the crimes.
The second time jurors reconvened, they asked to hear the longer explanation for aiding/causing suicide, which included the individual elements of the crime.
While the verdict was being delivered to the court, friends and family members of the victim were very upset with Schaffer being found not guilty on the most serious charges. They were heard using expletives, and one called Schaffer a “murderer.” Deputies had to prevent any of them from leaving the courtroom as well as quiet them.
Once Ammerman dismissed the jurors, he didn’t permit anyone to leave the courtroom, except for the court staff and members of the media. Ammerman asked that although some were upset with the verdict, they refrain from expressing it until they’d left.
Once Ammerman received notification from deputies jurors had exited the courthouse, the victim’s and Schaffer’s families were escorted out separate exits.
In an interview with the press, Knaresboro said they were very pleased with the verdict. “He was found not guilty of the three, most serious [charges], and guilty on the ungraded felony and a misdemeanor.”
Shaw said he wasn’t surprised by the jury’s verdict, and it was a case that could have gone either way. For him, it was important to bring it before a jury, because it wasn’t a case to be decided by one person but by a jury of community members.
“It was factually a very unique case,” he said. “It was also unfortunate and sad.” He commended the DuBois City police officers for picking up on issues, which surrounded the circumstances of the death. This, Shaw said, allowed them to bring the case before the jury.
The charges against Schaffer stemmed from an incident Jan. 2, 2015, which resulted in the death of a DuBois woman. The victim died from a single gunshot wound to the head that she suffered in the living room of her Grant Street residence in DuBois City.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony that DuBois City police officers responded to a female gunshot victim at approximately 7 a.m. on the date in question at a Grant Street residence. Once inside officers observed a female seated in the middle of the couch. She was bleeding severely from her right temple, nose and mouth and taking slow, intermittent breaths.
County dispatch was requested to expedite emergency personnel to attempt to save the victim’s life. She was quickly removed from the residence and transported to the emergency department at DuBois Penn Highlands Hospital where she died shortly after.
At the scene, officers observed a lot of blood on the couch. On the floor, they observed a gun in front of the couch, and it was located slightly to the left of where the victim had been seated. Officers also conducted a brief interview of Schaffer, who claimed he was upstairs when he heard the door, followed by a bang and then went down to find the victim had shot herself.
Later on Jan. 2, 2015, police conducted another interview with Schaffer. He initially provided a similar account as he had at the scene but then suddenly changed his story significantly to admit seeing the victim shoot herself.
This caused concern for the DuBois City police, and the department continued its investigation into the victim’s death. On Feb. 19, 2015, police interviewed Schaffer again, and he changed his story several times.
Police pointed out inconsistencies in relation to how the victim got the gun, who loaded it and where Schaffer was when he claimed the victim shot herself. He said because police collected three different written statements, Schaffer was asked to do a recorded audio/video interview.
During the approximately 45-minute interview played for the jurors, Schaffer said he and the victim had argued throughout the night, she had accused him of cheating and had called him a liar. He was upset by this.
In order to “prove a point” to the victim, Schaffer admitted to retrieving his gun from his truck and bringing it inside. He said he removed the magazine and aimed it at his head, stating “If I’m lying, I’m dying.” When it didn’t go off, Schaffer said he told the victim he wasn’t lying because he wasn’t dead.
When the victim wanted to see the gun, Schaffer said he handed it to her. When she asked about the bullets, Schaffer said he showed her the loaded magazine and then loaded the gun while it was in her hand.
Schaffer said the victim then pointed the gun to her head and stated to him, “Don’t think I won’t do it.” She then shot herself, he said.
When asked by police in the video interview, Schaffer denied he put the gun to the victim’s head. He also denied that he pulled the trigger and went on to state that he didn’t intend for the victim to die that day.
Schaffer told police that after she had shot herself, the victim was gasping for air and he couldn’t stand watching her suffer. He admitted to contemplating about shooting her and compared it to “putting down a horse.” Schaffer said he thought about shooting her and then himself but couldn’t go through with it.
Schaffer admitted to police that he was aware the victim had a history of mental health issues and suicidal ideations. He also admitted to bringing and then sharing meth with the victim.
Jurors also heard testimony from Kevin Mongan, who had been dating the victim, that he, the victim and Schaffer were all drinking Tequila and using meth Jan. 2, 2015. Mongan also testified that they had been using meth for four days straight.
A friend of the victim said that 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.
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.
During his closing Wednesday morning, Knaresboro pointed out that police were dispatched because Schaffer called 911 the morning of Jan. 2, 2015. He claimed the commonwealth’s case was built around the inconsistencies in Schaffer’s statements to police.
However, he said Schaffer was “high the whole time,” which was the reason for the changes in his story. He called attention to the fact that Schaffer cooperated throughout the investigation, and that he showed emotion during the police interviews.
Knaresboro emphasized that the victim had a history of hearing voices, suicidal ideations and various mental health issues. He said nothing put Schaffer behind the trigger, and there wasn’t any evidence that he deceived the victim or assisted her.
“I’m sorry she died,” Knaresboro said. “It’s unfortunate, but she made the decision. If Brian wanted her dead, he could have finished her off, but he didn’t. He called 911 to save her. He was standing in the doorway waiting for police and EMS. He wanted help.”
In closing, Shaw pointed out to jurors that the victim and Schaffer had dated and broken up. Schaffer, he said, was angry that she started dating Mongan and asked him to come back Jan. 2, 2015, which gave him motive to kill her.
Shaw called the jurors’ attention to the fact that when Schaffer had his first opportunity to tell police what happened, he lied to them. He said if Schaffer had just witnessed the victim shoot herself right in front of him, it would have been entrenched in his mind.
“It’s a profound event,” Shaw said. “It’s not something you’ll ever forget in your life.” He said the defense wanted to claim Schaffer was on meth when he was interviewed by police. “He spoke normally … and he told a story.
“All of a sudden it changed to him seeing the victim with the gun and shooting herself. It made police raise an eyebrow because it wasn’t his original story. Who lies about a bona fide suicide? It would be human nature for the truth to pour, to ooze from you.”
Shaw pointed out to jurors that the victim didn’t have any thoughts of suicide earlier that day. He said Schaffer and the victim were the only two in the living room and the victim ended up dead, because if he can’t have her, then no one else can either.
