CLEARFIELD – A jury deliberated for less than an hour before delivering a verdict that will result in a once-convicted murderer of getting a life sentence for a second time.
Hummel, 55, of the State Correctional Institution at Rockview and formerly of Morrisdale has been charged with criminal homicide and accused of murdering his wife, Debra Hummel on Nov. 22, 1991. Hummel allegedly shot his wife in her left cheek region of her face in the basement of their residence with a 45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol.
Then, Hummel turned the murder weapon on himself in a failed attempt to commit suicide. He survived his self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was convicted of his wife’s murder in 1993. But in 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated his original conviction and granted Hummel a second trial.
The court ruled that his defense attorney didn’t effectively contend the defendant’s competency for being on trial after he’d sustained severe brain injuries because of his suicide attempt, which has left him paraplegic. In 2010, Hummel was declared competent to stand trial a second time, which began Tuesday before the Honorable Judge Paul E. Cherry.
On Thursday, the jury came back with a guilty verdict for first degree murder. According to District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr., Hummel can expect a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Check back tomorrow morning for more from the last day of trial, including Edward Hummel’s testimony.
